Crespo’s future and market hurdles: São Paulo’s 2026 plans | OneFootball

Rui Costa, São Paulo’s football executive, gave a press conference last Wednesday and opened up about various topics that have stirred up the fans in recent days. The director shared some details about the club’s planning for the next season, talked about Crespo’s future, and made clear what the main challenges will be for Tricolor in the market.

Crespo is in the plans for 2026

After the match against Bahia on October 25, Crespo left his future at São Paulo open and said he didn’t know if he would stay at the club for 2026. Almost two weeks later, the coach was asked about the subject again and changed his stance: he stated that he would fulfill his contract with the club.

From the board’s perspective, there is no doubt about Crespo’s continuity at the helm of the team. The Argentine coach has a contract until the end of 2026 and has been actively participating in planning meetings for the next season.

“He has a contract with us until December 2026, he takes part in all our internal processes, he is heard, consulted, we share things with him. He has a practice where, during training, the president is there, I’m there, Belmonte is there, and the coaches come over for that conversation which is the most important of the day, because he opens his heart, talks about his concerns, especially after training. We’ve done this with all the coaches who have been here. There is a great sense of complicity between us,” said Rui Costa.

“When he gives an opinion that is very much his own, in the sense of worrying about the future, obviously he was speaking from the perspective of the demands placed on him. We see him as very committed to the future and to the 2026 planning. Press conferences are very close to either a win or a loss, and that affects anyone. But I see Crespo as very integrated into our 2026 planning,” he added.

Swaps with River Plate?

São Paulo is also planning a ‘swap’ with River Plate. Galoppo, who belongs to Tricolor, is on loan to the Argentine club, while Tapia and Enzo Díaz made the move in the opposite direction. The attacking midfielder could even be used as a bargaining chip for the fullback’s continued stay – which, according to Rui Costa, is already guaranteed.

Galoppo and Enzo Díaz have a fixed purchase option if certain targets are met. The defender, who is recovering from inguinal hernia surgery, had been a regular starter for São Paulo, while the attacking midfielder has alternated between starting and coming off the bench at River throughout the season.

“Today, this relationship with River Plate is very important for us, because it was creative and assertive. We brought in Enzo, who has almost 54 games and will remain at São Paulo because he met the targets. We have Tapia, who arrived amid some skepticism, is standing out for the national team, and has been extremely useful, quickly embracing the São Paulo spirit. And Galoppo, who has been used repeatedly, but not in a way that triggers the mandatory purchase clause. We routinely analyze this scenario with River, we’ve been talking to River, and we’re trying to come up with a solution that meets everyone’s interests. The permanence of Tapia, the permanence of Enzo which is already consolidated, and the formalization of Galoppo’s sale to River. I believe we’ll have some resolution in the coming days,” explained the executive.

(Photo: Rubens Chiri / São Paulo FC)

The focus and challenges for 2026

São Paulo still has some uncertainties in its planning due to one main reason: the uncertainty at this final stretch of the season regarding the Copa Libertadores. Tricolor still dreams of a spot in the competition via the Brasileirão, but does not know if it will be able to achieve this goal.

Rui Costa revealed that the São Paulo board has been holding constant meetings to map out all possible scenarios. “That’s what these meetings are for. You project the sporting scenario you’ll be in, you project how attractive that scenario will allow you to be. Obviously, São Paulo is attractive in itself, but being in the Libertadores makes a difference for us in the market. That’s why it’s so important for us to be in this tournament,” he explained.

The football executive was also frank about the planning São Paulo has adopted in recent years due to financial difficulties. Tricolor has opted to bring in free agents or use a loan model with a purchase option based on meeting certain targets. The trend is that, for 2026, the club will continue down this same path.

“Our planning has always started from very clear premises. We’re always thinking six months ahead, because that’s what’s required as a strategy given our inability to compete financially with other clubs. Since 2021, we started cycles of intervention. We diagnosed the squad and began to change the profile. We can’t forget what the profile of players we brought in was like until we got to the team we have today. A team committed to the club’s causes, with players who have a clear sense of belonging. Having expensive or cheap players is very relative. Is Rafael cheap or expensive? Is Marcos Antônio expensive or cheap?” he assessed.

“Over the years, we have carried out a very structured process with clear concepts and strategies. Be creative, assertive in signings. When we were creative, we brought in free agents, and I believe we were more assertive than mistaken. And the same thing should happen next year. […] We are already holding meetings, analyzing what we will be able to do and the names we have,” he continued.

Finally, Rui Costa also stressed the need to focus on the first transfer window of the year, highlighting the necessity to strengthen the team due to the calendar changes promoted by the CBF. The Brazilian Championship will take place simultaneously with the Paulista Championship.

“We were at the FPF technical congress and you could already sense the clubs’ concern with the calendar, which will be absolutely new and have impacts we still don’t know. We held a specific meeting at the training center to discuss the calendar and how it would impact our strategy. You’ll have to focus a lot on the first window, which is about 58 days. We’ll have three windows: January, July, and the domestic one. The fact is, we’ll have many rounds of the Brasileirão between one window and another, which didn’t happen before. And the second window, which used to be when you made some changes to the team, will lose its importance, because we’ll have a very intense year already in January. This year, being very assertive in the first window is something that will be highly considered,” concluded the executive.

Upcoming São Paulo matches

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