Corinthians president hints midfielder will stay after talks | OneFootball

Corinthians president Osmar Stabile gave an interview to Rádio Energia 97 and said that defensive midfielder André Luiz, 21, will not be sold to Nottingham Forest of England in this transfer window. The English window, like those of the other major European leagues, closed at 7 p.m. (Brasília time) this Tuesday.

“An offer was made, we submitted a counteroffer, and they are still evaluating it. In this window for Europe, no (he will not be sold). However, there are other transfer windows still open that could allow a deal, if there is interest from other clubs,” the chairman said in an interview on Monday night (1).

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Last week, the Daily Mail, one of England’s leading newspapers, reported that Nottingham Forest is willing to pay £13.6 million, around R$95 million at the current exchange rate, to sign the player. It is worth noting that Alvinegro owns 70% of the player’s economic rights.

However, Corinthians submitted a counteroffer of €15 million fixed (R$90.25 million), plus another €3 million (R$18 million) in bonuses tied to targets to be achieved in Brazil by the end of the current season, and another €3 million for other objectives set for the youngster in his first year playing in English football — a total of around €21 million (R$147.5 million) for the share it owns of the player developed in Timão’s academy.

However, the English club ultimately did not send a response regarding the new figures, as confirmed by the Corinthians president himself tonight. Even so, there is still a possibility that André Luiz could be sold in this window, which closes on September 11. Olympiacos of Greece, which, like Forest, is also run by Evangelos Marinakis, is also interested in the player. According to ge.globo, the Greeks are offering €10 million (approximately R$60 million) to sign him.

The Greek transfer window, like the Brazilian one, remains open until the 11th of this month. In addition, other alternative leagues still have their markets open, such as: the Netherlands (September 2), Turkey (September 4), Portugal (September 4), Saudi Arabia (September 6), and Russia (September 10).

The Corinthians academy product has not played since August 6 — Corinthians 2-1 Internacional in the Copa do Brasil round of 16 — as he is recovering from a grade 2 muscle injury in the back of his right thigh. He is currently doing physical transition work.

André Luiz’s path with Corinthians’ first team

Developed in Timão’s youth academy, André Luiz made his professional debut in September 2025, when Timão was coached by Dorival Júnior, in a 1-0 win over Fluminense in the Brazilian Championship. Since then, he has made 47 appearances for the senior team, 31 as a starter, scored seven goals, and provided two assists. At that time, the player earned space in the first team also because the club had been punished by FIFA with a transfer ban related to a debt with Santos Laguna of Mexico.

The midfielder was also part of the squads that won the 2025 Copa do Brasil and the 2026 Supercopa do Brasil, taking part in both finals. This season, he has earned even more space and had been used frequently among Fernando Diniz’s starters. This year, he is the team’s third-leading scorer with five goals in 35 matches.

Interest from abroad is not recent

André Luiz had already attracted interest from European football before. At the start of 2026, AC Milan advanced in talks to sign the midfielder and submitted an offer that could have reached €17 million. The amount was divided into €15 million fixed and another €2 million in bonuses, in addition to retaining a percentage of the profit from a future sale. The negotiations, however, did not move forward after a change of course by president Osmar Stabile and “pressure” from then-head coach Dorival Júnior for the sale not to happen.

Transfer bans and financial crisis combined with the need to sell players to meet budget targets

It is worth remembering that, at this moment, Corinthians is barred from registering possible new signings, as it has been punished with three transfer bans, two from FIFA and one from the CNRD (National Chamber for Dispute Resolution, a CBF body), totaling approximately R$22 million due to pending issues related to the signings of José Martínez and Charles, both in mid-2024, and for non-payment of the fifth CNRD installment — set at R$8 million.

The need to raise money through transfers also weighs on the board’s decisions. In its 2026 budget, Corinthians projected approximately R$151 million in revenue from transfers of registration rights and amounts related to FIFA’s solidarity mechanism. So far, the club has not made a major sale capable of representing a significant portion of that projection.

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