Luciano’s last year at São Paulo after Libertadores ‘villain’ tag? | OneFootball

Luciano, 32 years old, has been with São Paulo since 2020, a club where he is close to reaching the milestone of 100 goals, having scored 99 so far in 310 matches wearing the tricolor jersey. And once again, the player's name is being speculated as a possible reinforcement for Vasco for next year.

And in these just over five years defending the Morumbi club, the forward has experienced moments of love and hate with the São Paulo fans. He shone in his first season, with 21 goals and 7 assists in 38 matches, which earned him the Bola de Prata awards as the best forward in the Brasileirão, as well as finishing as the top scorer of the competition, with 18 goals.

That was when he started to win over the tricolor fans, not only for his good performances on the field, but also for his grit and fight for the ball in every play. Sometimes, with a bit of exaggeration. But nothing truly harmful yet. Thus, he won for the first time the chants of ‘É, Luciano’ coming from the São Paulo stands.

After a lackluster 2021, with only ten goals and two assists in 39 games, he returned to have a great season the following year, which earned him a contract renewal with the club until the end of 2024, increasing his salary by about five times.

In 2022, he once again reached his best goal tally for the Tricolor, 21, in addition to providing four more assists in 59 appearances, being the main highlight of the team that reached the Copa Sudamericana final that year. It was there, however, that he began to feel the first major pressures coming from the stands.

The same fans who applaud…

With a weak performance in the final lost to Independiente del Valle, the fans began to criticize, claiming that the top scorer would disappear in decisive moments. Still, at the end of the season, he inherited the tricolor number 10 jersey, which, bizarrely, had been worn by midfielder Nikão.

Now already established and an undisputed starter for the team, with the new number he also started playing a different role on the field, acting more as an attacking midfielder. His performance, however, declined. Despite having his best year as a playmaker for the club, with eight assists, he scored only 15 goals in 65 games. Nevertheless, at the end of the season, there was another contract renewal, now extended until December 2026, once again with a significant salary increase.

These last two years have been marked by a certain division regarding the tricolor fans' affection for their number 10. The group that sees him as an idol still believes in the player's talent, but the haters who want him out of the club have seen their numbers grow with each game.

The peak was São Paulo's elimination by LDU in this year's Libertadores. With key offensive players like Lucas, Oscar, and Calleri missing, Luciano was left as the team's star and main hope. But the numerous missed goals against the Ecuadorians in both matches seem to have exhausted the patience of a large part of the fans. And not just because of that. The player's ‘hot-headed’ temperament, which often results in cards and suspensions, is also a source of much criticism.

Is it time to leave?

At the beginning of 2025, as Luciano himself revealed, he was almost involved in a swap deal with Santos, but ended up staying. Vasco's interest is not new. As we have already revealed, at the beginning of last year, when Alexandre Mattos was still the football executive of the Rio team, the cruz-maltinos made official contacts with the player's staff and with Tricolor itself to try to sign him. However, nothing came of it.

Now, the one who wants to bring him in is his friend Fernando Diniz. It's not hard to imagine, since the forward and coach have a history together. Luciano went to Fluminense at Diniz's request. And again, it was at the coach's request that he landed at São Paulo in August 2020.

Vasco, another club not in a good financial situation, does not intend to pay a release clause to Tricolor for the player. The idea is to try to reach an agreement, which would depend on the negotiating power of the player's agents.

The situation still depends on many factors to move forward. If São Paulo, for example, qualifies for the Libertadores again, his departure could be more complicated. A player already a veteran, over 30, is unlikely to bring profit to Tricolor, which also did not spend anything to bring him in.

However, despite being the player with the most goal involvements this season (14 goals scored and six assists provided), the number 10 saw his idol status take a hit with the goal drought he experienced in recent months, exactly during the period that culminated in eliminations from the Brazil Cup and Libertadores. And, internally, Luciano's high salary has already been seen as a problem.

The time for Luciano to say goodbye may have arrived, in an extreme love-hate relationship within the club. And you, do you think the forward's time at Tricolor is over, or is he still an important piece for the squad in 2026?

For this journalist writing to you, who has never been a big fan of Luciano, despite recognizing his importance to the squad, the number 10 has never confirmed his name as the great hope of Tricolor. In decisive moments, he failed, or lost his place, as in the 2023 Cup victory. He is a squad player. But given his high earnings, with the club in the biggest financial crisis in its history, I don't think the cost-benefit is worth it and I would seriously consider any offers that come in for him.

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