Looking to strengthen midfield, Atlético join race for Maycon from Shakhtar | OneFootball

Atlético has officially entered negotiations for midfielder Maycon and has made an official offer to Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine, the club that holds the player’s economic rights. The news was first reported by journalist André Hernan from ESPN and is stirring up the transfer market at the start of the season.

Maycon had been on loan to Corinthians since mid-2022 and came very close to staying permanently at the São Paulo club. Shakhtar even accepted Timão’s proposal, which included a three-year contract and a 50/50 split of the player’s economic rights between the two clubs. However, in the final moments of the negotiation, Corinthians changed the terms of the agreement and tried to reduce the contract to two years, which did not please the Ukrainians and ended up stalling the deal.

With the impasse, Atlético took advantage of the situation and entered the race. Galo showed willingness to accept the conditions imposed by Shakhtar Donetsk, which puts Maycon back on the radar of Brazilian football in full force and brings the midfielder closer to a possible deal with the Minas Gerais club.

With no current contract with Corinthians and the deal between the São Paulo club and Shakhtar not finalized, Maycon did not report back to Timão and is awaiting a decision about his future to know where he will play in 2026.

Maycon’s heat map in the 2025 Brasileirão

In his last season with Corinthians, the midfielder played 43 matches and scored three goals. The year, however, was marked by physical difficulties: in addition to a serious cruciate ligament injury that kept him out at the start of the 2025 season, Maycon also suffered a thigh muscle injury during the year.

Now, Atlético emerges as a strong candidate to continue the player’s career, betting on the full recovery of the midfielder and his technical ability to strengthen the alvinegro midfield.

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