Dória returns to São Paulo, shrugs off political crisis: "Just focus" | OneFootball

Third signing for São Paulo this season, Matheus Dória was officially presented this Monday at a press conference at SuperCT. The new number 4 celebrated his return to Tricolor after 11 years — he was on loan in 2015 — and dodged questions about the club's political issues. This Friday, the council members will vote on the impeachment of president Julio Casares.

“São Paulo made a huge impact on me. I arrived here at 20 years old, on loan. It was here that I received the news that my wife was pregnant. I spent six months here that really marked me, and I was going to stay, but due to bureaucratic issues and the increase in value, Marseille didn’t want to let the negotiation move forward. I was left wanting more. Today, I can fulfill the dream of coming back and continuing my story,” he said.

“A phrase that stuck with me, said by Felipe [press officer] during this time, he said ‘São Paulo is São Paulo, there’s no way to say no.’ These other [political] issues are not my concern, I just have to work and help my teammates. In football, everything is resolved with results,” he added.

(Photo: Thais Bueno/Gazeta Press)

According to Rui Costa, São Paulo’s football executive, Dória gave up considerable sums to terminate his contract with Atlas, from Mexico, and sign with Tricolor. The defender had offers from other teams, but didn’t think twice about signing with the Morumbis team, even with all the financial and political problems that have plagued the club in recent weeks.

“I think if there’s any player who thinks twice about coming here, he’s very wrong. If I had an offer to play in India, a less prominent league, language issues, for example, then you might think twice, but to go to São Paulo, I think any player, there’s no way to think twice. Let’s go. I have many friends here. I played with Wendell, Luciano, Tolói. It’s a joy to see them playing well. I understand the things people might say, I understand your role, but for us, as players, we have to show it on the field. The only way to respond is to play and bring positive results. We can’t let ourselves be shaken by anything else. For us, it’s about working more and bringing joy to our fans,” Dória emphasized.

Does politics get in the way?

One of the main topics at Matheus Dória’s press conference was São Paulo’s politics — Tricolor is going through a crisis due to scandals revealed in recent days. However, the defender was emphatic in stating that such issues did not make him doubt his decision to sign with the club until the end of 2027. In the player’s view, those who can help solve the problem are the athletes.

“These are things that happen and are normal in football. It happened to me at Botafogo in my last year there. I repeat, the ones who can solve this are the players. Having a good mindset to work, deliver positive results, not using this as an excuse for a negative result. That’s not the way. In the end, the ones who go out on the field are us,” Dória assessed.

“I went through this in Mexico too. The president was the owner and couldn’t even enter Mexico, being investigated for income tax, and in the end everything was resolved. We stayed focused and we have to work. I saw that nothing was lacking, the structure São Paulo has is incredible. The improvements they made to the club, locker rooms, facilities, are on par with any team in Europe. For us, nothing is missing. We just have to focus and play football. My answer to all this is that we stay focused on playing football,” the defender concluded.

https://twitter.com/SaoPauloFC/status/2011107307204358550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

"Matheus Dória’s CareerBorn in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Dória emerged at Botafogo in 2012. In 2015, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, which later loaned him to São Paulo. For Tricolor do Morumbi, he played 18 matches and scored two goals.After stints at clubs in Spain and Turkey, Dória established himself in Mexican football, where he played for Santos Laguna (2018 to 2024) and Atlas FC (2024 to 2025).Upcoming São Paulo matchesSão Paulo vs. São Bernardo (second round of the Paulistão)Date and time: 01/15 (Thursday), at 9:45 PM (Brasília time)Venue: Morumbis, in São Paulo (SP)Corinthians vs. São Paulo (third round of the Paulistão)Date and time: 01/18 (Sunday), at 4:00 PM (Brasília time)Venue: Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (SP)

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