Corinthians reject offer from French club for Gui Negão | OneFootball

Despite being unable to sign players due to sanctions from FIFA and the CBF, Corinthians still has players being monitored by clubs abroad. The club from Parque São Jorge turned down a loan offer from Le Mans FC, recently promoted to Ligue 1, the French first division, for 19-year-old forward Gui Negão. The information was reported by ESPN Brasil and confirmed by Central do Timão. The youngster, who came through Corinthians’ youth academy, is going through a difficult spell.

Recently, Central do Timão reported that the player’s representatives were not ruling out a change of scenery in this transfer window — from July 20 to September 11, given his recent lack of opportunities with Timão’s first team. Since coach Fernando Diniz arrived at the beginning of April, the No. 56 has taken the field under him only once: in the 2-0 defeat to Internacional, in the first leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16 at Beira-Rio Stadium, on August 2 — he played 72 minutes.

Photo:: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In late March, during the FIFA international break, it is worth remembering, Gui Negão suffered a grade 2 muscle injury in his right thigh during a training session with the Brazil Under-20 national team. During that period, he remained in Corinthians’ medical department and was only called up again for Timão matches at the beginning of May. At the moment, with Yuri Alberto sidelined by a muscle injury and Memphis Depay’s contract not renewed, Corinthians has Gui and Pedro Raul as its natural center-forwards.

Until he played again, he remained on the bench in matches against (A – Brasileirão), Santa-FÉ-COL (A – Libertadores), São Paulo (H – Brasileirão), Botafogo (A – Brasileirão), Peñarol-URU (A – Libertadores), Grêmio (A – Brasileirão), FC Cascavel (A – friendly) and Athletico-PR (H – Brasileirão). The lack of space in the first team led Corinthians Under-20 coach William Batista to use the player in both legs of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship quarterfinal against Palmeiras.

Gui Negão began receiving opportunities in Corinthians’ senior squad in mid-2025, when the team was coached by Dorival Júnior. At the time, Alvinegro was under a FIFA transfer ban, meaning it was prohibited from registering signings, in addition to injuries to Yuri Alberto and Memphis Depay, forcing the club to turn to players developed in its youth ranks.

At first, the youngster delivered standout performances, proving decisive for Corinthians in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals against Athletico-PR, playing an important tactical role and also being useful in Brazilian Championship matches. However, by the closing stretch of 2025, his form had dropped and he started being used less. In 2026, for example, he has made 13 appearances and scored just one goal.

In terms of overall numbers, Gui Negão has six goals and two assists in 37 matches for Timão, with 16 wins, four draws and 15 losses — a 48% success rate. In addition, he has won two titles: the Copa do Brasil (2025) and the Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, respectively. His contract runs until June 2030, with a domestic release clause of R$ 140 million and an international one set at 100 million euros (approximately R$ 600 million at the current exchange rate).

For Corinthians’ Under-17 and Under-20 teams, he scored 24 goals in 101 matches — 55 wins, 29 draws and 27 losses. At youth level, his most notable title was the 2023 Paulista Under-17 Championship, against São Paulo, in a squad that included names such as Luiz Gustavo Bahia, André Luiz and Dieguinho — the latter two are with Gui in the first team.

At the same time…. need for sales to ease finances

In the 2026 budget, it is worth remembering, Corinthians’ board set a target of bringing in R$ 151 million from player sales (now R$ 180 million — updated) and revenue from FIFA’s Solidarity Mechanism. Last season, Alvinegro already failed to hit the target and, given the serious financial crisis, needs to complete player deals to gain some financial breathing room, as the club’s total debt is currently close to R$ 3 billion.

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