Leadership, height, strength: who is São Paulo's new defender Duarte | OneFootball

* By contributor Alex Pimenta

São Paulo continue to step up their search for reinforcements, and the defensive system is the board’s main focus. With that in mind, the club is looking for a center-back with leadership qualities, physical presence, and international experience.

And the player who fits Tricolor’s search is 31-year-old Portuguese defender Domingos Duarte. As reported by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, São Paulo reached an agreement with the Portuguese player for him to become the team’s third signing in this transfer window, after Victor Sá and Newton.

A well-established center-back in European football, Duarte contacted São Paulo over the weekend, apologized for his stance, and agreed to lower his initial salary demands to fit the ceiling set by the board, sealing a verbal commitment valid for two seasons. Domingos Duarte came through Sporting Portugal’s youth ranks and has always shown himself to be a player with great physical strength and leadership.

During his career, he has had spells with Portugal’s Sporting B, Belenenses (loan), Chaves (loan), as well as Spain’s Granada (2019–2022) and Getafe (2022–present).

His contract ended in the middle of the year and was not renewed with Getafe, making him a free agent. Therefore, the player fit perfectly into São Paulo’s negotiation model, with no transfer fee and only signing-on bonuses and salary to be agreed.

In the 2025/26 season, Domingos played 33 La Liga matches, with one goal and one assist, and was an undisputed starter in Getafe’s defense, which, incidentally, was one of the best defenses in the Spanish Championship.

The Portuguese center-back’s main strengths are:

* Excellent in the air * Strong in physical duels * Good defensive awareness * Leadership and positioning * ⁠Height (1.92 m)

In comparison with players who play in Brazil, we could say the Portuguese defender has characteristics similar to Paraguayan center-back Gustavo Gómez of rivals Palmeiras. But we have to consider some negatives regarding his style of play:

* He is not a fast center-back * He picks up a lot of cards

Because of his combative profile, he often ends up going too far. Even with these negative traits, I view the signing of the Portuguese defender positively, as he fits the profile requested by coach Dorival, the famous defensive sheriff.

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