End of the road: out of Vasco's plans, Matheus França leaves Tuesday | OneFootball

Vasco da Gama’s squad planning for the remainder of the 2026 season received an official decision behind the scenes in the football department. Attacking midfielder Matheus França, 22, formally ended his loan spell with the Cruz-Maltino club this Tuesday, June 30. With the board having no plans to renew his deal, the player was excused from physical activities during the mid-season break and will return to Crystal Palace of England, which holds his economic rights.

Announced in August last year as one of the most unanimously welcomed signings and one that generated huge expectations among the fans, the young player faced serious obstacles in establishing himself in the first team at São Januário. Over nearly a year wearing the Vasco shirt, he dealt with major difficulties adapting to Brazilian football, in addition to struggling with a lack of ideal match fitness and psychological strain during the team’s most pressured moments in the national competition.

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Stats from his spell and his only goal for Vasco

The attacking midfielder’s statistical record at Colina Histórica reflects a performance below what the coaching staff expected from the squad. In total, the player took the field in 27 official matches and found the net only once, posting a level of productivity that ultimately ruled out any financial effort by the SAF to try to extend his stay in Rio de Janeiro.

The only time the No. 9 celebrated a goal for Vasco came on May 6, during the match against Chile’s Audax Italiano in the Copa Sudamericana. On that occasion, his clinical finish secured the team’s victory and ended a long personal drought, as he had gone more than a year without scoring in official matches since his time playing in Europe.

Creating room and the wage bill

The player’s formal release had already been arranged behind the scenes by the sporting board led by Admar Lopes, which took advantage of the break in the national calendar to move forward with the transition process alongside the player’s camp. His permanent departure helps ease the football department’s wage bill, allowing the club to gain some budget breathing room to look for new reinforcements on the international market.

Vasco’s squad continues training under the club’s guidelines while awaiting the appointment of a new head coach for the second half of the year. The team will have two more weeks of intensive training at the physical preparation center before resuming official matches this season, with focus turning to the clash against Vitória, scheduled for July 16 in the capital of Bahia.

Matheus França celebrates his only goal for Vasco – Photo: Dikran Sahagian / Vasco da Gama

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