Corinthians left-back on Memphis exit, focus on Libertadores decider | OneFootball

On the night of this Thursday (13), Corinthians will travel to Gigante de Arroyito Stadium, in Argentina, to face Rosario Central in the first leg of the 2026 Conmebol Libertadores round of 16. During the group stage, Timão advanced to the knockout rounds as leaders of Group E with 11 points. Their opponent, meanwhile, finished second in Group H with 13 points.

Left-back Matheus Bidu gave an exclusive interview to ESPN Brasil, on the eve of the first chapter of the decisive tie, and was asked about an issue that has been stirring the club behind the scenes: the departure of forward Memphis Depay. The No. 21 stressed how important the Dutchman was to the squad, but at the same time called for focus on the match against the Argentine side in the international competition. The player also revealed that the squad found out about the 32-year-old’s departure through social media.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

“We know he’s a player of extremely high quality and he was very important for our team. We’re focused on tomorrow’s match; there are situations you can’t really get involved in. We’re focused on tomorrow’s game, it’s going to be an extremely important clash. Just like everyone else found out, it was something that ended up becoming public, and there’s nothing we can do. There was nothing (officially communicated). We traveled here to Argentina, we were focused on the tie, and we found out the same way everyone else did. Like I said, a player of extremely high quality. He was very important for us. However, we’re focused on tomorrow’s clash; we have other very high-quality players who will get the job done,” he said.

At Corinthians since 2023, Matheus Bidu has recorded 10 goals and 11 assists in 157 matches (129 as a starter), with 74 wins, 34 draws and 46 losses — a 55% success rate. Under contract until December 2027, he has won three titles with Timão: the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively. In 2024, he was part of the squad that produced a historic turnaround in the Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage).

Against Rosario, the club from Parque São Jorge will look to improve its record against Argentine teams and in the Libertadores round of 16. To do so, Corinthians is also counting on the possibility of matching or setting its longest winning streak of the 2026 season, which already happened in February and April under Dorival Júnior and Fernando Diniz.

Memphis Depay’s numbers for Corinthians

Signed in September 2024 after his contract was not renewed by Atlético de Madrid of Spain, Memphis Depay arrived at Corinthians and immediately played a key role in the team’s surge in the previous Brasileirão campaign (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage), scoring seven goals and providing one assist in 11 matches in the national tournament.

Last season and at the start of this one, he was decisive in the title wins in the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), totaling two assists in those finals and playing an important role in the earlier knockout rounds. Wearing the Corinthians shirt, he has 20 goals and 15 assists in 79 matches — 40 wins, 18 draws and 21 losses — a 58.23% success rate.

Before playing for Atlético de Madrid of Spain and Corinthians, he had spells at PSV of the Netherlands — where he came through the youth ranks — Manchester United (England), Lyon (France) and Barcelona (Spain).

Corinthians’ need to end an international title drought

It is worth remembering that the club from Parque São Jorge is seeking to win an international title for the first time since 2013, when it beat São Paulo 4-1 on aggregate in the Recopa Sudamericana. Its only Conmebol Libertadores title in history came in 2012, when it went unbeaten and defeated Boca Juniors of Argentina in the final.

Since then, it has had largely underwhelming campaigns in the continental competition. Its best Libertadores run in that span came in 2022, when it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Flamengo, who went on to win that edition. In 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018, it was knocked out in the round of 16. In 2020 and 2025, it exited the tournament as early as the preliminary stage.

Possible opponents and prize money accumulated so far

If it advances to the quarterfinals, it could face Estudiantes-ARG or Universidad Católica-CHI, who met last Tuesday (11) in Argentina and drew 1-1. So far, the club from Parque São Jorge has earned R$ 16.3 million in prize money in this edition of the Libertadores.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.