Lucas Veríssimo celebrates Santos return as captain in draw at Cruzeiro | OneFootball

Lucas Veríssimo captained Santos on his return in a 0-0 draw at Cruzeiro at the Mineirão in the eighth round of the Brasileirão on Sunday. According to Diario Do Peixe, it marked his re-debut for the club.

The defender had been unveiled almost three weeks earlier but arrived late in Brazil, and was on the bench for the home games against Corinthians and Internacional at Vila Belmiro.

He said wearing the armband, used by many top players before him, was a huge honour and that being back home made him very happy. He accepted the frustration of not taking the win they wanted but was content overall, and hopes the team can improve and carry out the coach’s ideas.

The appearance took him to 191 matches for Santos in total, and he has signed a contract to 2028 for his second stint. Santos are investing 4 million euros plus bonuses that could reach 5 million, agreed with a Qatari club as the board moved late in the window. Payments are set across four annual instalments, the first due in December this year.

An academy graduate, Veríssimo established himself before moves to Benfica in Portugal, Corinthians and Al-Duhail in Qatar, and a loan at Al-Wakrah. Across his first spell for Santos he scored seven goals in 190 games, lifting the Copinha in 2013 and the Paulista in 2016, and finishing Libertadores runners-up in 2021.

Source: Diario Do Peixe