Corinthians settle debt with Rojas, avoid another transfer ban | OneFootball

The Corinthians managed to avoid a new transfer ban from FIFA. The club paid the second and final installment of the agreement made with the staff of midfielder Matías Rojas last Monday and escaped another punishment from the world's football governing body.

The debt was settled in two installments. The first was made last Saturday, while the other was on Monday. Both were around R$ 20.5 million, totaling the R$ 41 million owed to the Paraguayan.

Originally, the debt was around R$ 45 million. However, the player waived the interest imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). To regularize the situation with the athlete, the club's management used part of the R$ 70 million received from winning the Copa do Brasil in 2025.

Long Negotiation

Corinthians was condemned by the CAS because of the debt with Rojas in September. However, the staff of the midfielder, who currently plays for the Portland Timbers in the United States, had no intention of provoking a transfer ban.

Thus, the parties began to negotiate an agreement. The negotiation lasted months but finally reached a positive conclusion.

(Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians)

Next Steps

With the Matías Rojas case resolved, Corinthians now focuses its efforts on settling a debt with Santos Laguna for the acquisition of defender Félix Torres and permanently lifting the transfer ban from FIFA. The debt with the Mexican club is around R$ 40 million.

The board, led by Osmar Stabile, has a trump card to solve the problem: Corinthians already has the approval of the Cori (Guidance Council) to take a loan from LFU (Liga Forte União). The club is considering borrowing R$ 70 million. The board expects the transfer ban to be lifted by the beginning of next week.

To resume registering players, the club also needs to reach an agreement with the CBF. Currently, the team faces an impasse to lift the national transfer ban, imposed due to a delay in payment to the CNRD (National Dispute Resolution Chamber).

Understanding the Rojas Case

Corinthians was ordered to pay more than R$ 40 million to Matías Rojas, who left the club at the end of February 2024 due to non-payment of amounts related to image rights.

Rojas was able to request termination because of a clause inserted in the renewal of the agreement in January, for payment of overdue amounts. This clause allowed Rojas to leave the club if Corinthians did not fulfill the payment. And so it happened.

Corinthians had divided Rojas' debt into installments, but already in February, it failed to pay the second installment. The player then activated the clause and never returned to the Dr. Joaquim Grava training center.

Besides the clause related to non-compliance, in the same debt renewal, Corinthians also accepted a mitigation clause.

In practice, this means that Rojas gained the right to claim all the amounts from his contract with Corinthians, both the past debt and what he would still be entitled to receive until 2027.

Unremarkable Tenure

Matías Rojas' time at Corinthians was extremely unremarkable. The Paraguayan left the club having played 30 matches without scoring any goals, and with only three assists.

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