Leadership, size, strength: meet Domingos Duarte, São Paulo's new defender | OneFootball

* By contributor Alex Pimenta

After getting rid of the transfer ban imposed by FIFA, São Paulo finally managed this Thursday (6) to unveil another of its signings, center-back Domingos Duarte.

The Portuguese player, who was at Getafe, arrives at Morumbi on a free transfer after his contract with the Spanish club expired and signed a deal valid until July 31, 2028. Duarte will be presented to the fans this Friday (7), after Tricolor’s training session, at CT da Barra Funda, in a press conference scheduled for 12:45 p.m. (Brasília time).

An established center-back in European football, Duarte approached São Paulo, apologized for his initial stance in the negotiations, and agreed to lower his initial salary demands to fit the cap 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 had spells with Portuguese clubs Sporting B, Belenenses (loan), Chaves (loan), as well as Spanish sides Granada (2019-2022) and Getafe (2022-present).

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

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

The Portuguese center-back’s main strengths are:

* Excellent aerial game * Strong in physical duels * Good defensive reading of the game * Leadership and positioning * ⁠Height (1.92 m)

For comparison with players who play in Brazil, we can say that the Portuguese defender has characteristics similar to Paraguayan center-back Gustavo Gomez, of rivals Palmeiras. But we have to consider some negative points 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 over the line. Even with these negative traits, I see the signing of the Portuguese defender in a positive light, because 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.