Makes me laugh: Alisson deal stalls as Corinthians can't pay São Paulo | OneFootball

The transfer of midfielder Alisson from São Paulo to rival Corinthians, which seemed well underway last Friday (23) after the rivals reached a financial agreement, has stalled again. And the reason is at least curious: the team from the east zone would not be able to afford the R$ 1 million upfront demanded by Tricolor for the loan of their number 25 for one season.

The information was released by the portal ‘UOL‘ on the afternoon of this Saturday (24).

According to the site, the full payment upfront is a requirement from the Morumbi club to release the documentation of their player to one of their biggest rivals, even stipulated in the negotiation contract.

Without Corinthians paying the amount, they will not receive the documentation and will not be able to register their new signing.

Still according to ‘UOL‘, there is no chance of the deal being canceled by the rival. And their management would be looking for ways to secure resources over this weekend.

On the São Paulo side, Alisson is already considered a thing of the past. The player even cleared out his locker last Friday and said goodbye to teammates and staff at the Barra Funda training center.

THE NEGOTIATION

The expectation was that Alisson would be announced on Friday as Corinthians' new signing.

The east zone rival got tired of trying to bargain with São Paulo and agreed to pay R$ 1 million upfront for the loan of the 32-year-old player, a request from their coach, Dorival Júnior.

According to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, besides the upfront amount, Corinthians also committed to paying an additional installment of R$ 500,000 for the deal starting in July.

The agreement includes a definitive purchase clause estimated at R$ 1.5 million if Alisson completes at least 25 games in Itaquera, playing at least 45 minutes. And the penalty if the rival decides to field him in a classic against São Paulo this season is R$ 2 million. The player's salary will be covered by the east zone team.

The deal comes after the Morumbi club stood firm against a counterproposal made by the rival last Thursday (22), asking about the possibility of starting to pay for Alisson's transfer only in 2027. Faced with the refusal and pressure from Dorival himself for the arrival of his trusted man, they gave in.

COMPLICATED

According to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, after rejecting the conditions initially suggested by the east zone team, which sought the release of number 25 for free, the Morumbi club made a counterproposal: payment of approximately R$ 1.5 million for a one-season loan, with the rival paying the salaries and a mandatory purchase clause if Alisson meets a game target.

Tired of thinking of alternatives to have Alisson, with whom they already have an alignment, Corinthians then decided to respond about the payment method of the loan fee. And Tricolor accepted the offer to split the amount into 11 monthly installments until the end of the year.

At the moment, the report found that the two rivals are only aligning final contract details so the negotiation can be officially announced.

THE NEGOTIATION

With the news that São Paulo finally unlocked their negotiations now that they indeed have a new president, with Harry Massis Júnior taking over from the impeached Julio Casares, São Paulo's Monday (19) was marked by information from Corinthians insiders about their plans to meet coach Dorival Júnior's request and finalize the signing of midfielder Alisson.

Well, the long-awaited contact from the rival happened, according to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, during the night. Indeed, some information from journalists covering Corinthians turned out to be true. They really want to have Alisson on loan for one season. But here's the problem: they don't want to pay anything for it.

It wasn't an official proposal, but rather a signal from Marcelo Paz, their new football boss. The draft offer is for São Paulo to release Alisson for the suggested period. And the east zone team would have an obligation to buy if he reached sporting goals, especially a certain number of games.

Tricolor's response was immediate: no way. São Paulo understands that it makes no sense to release their player for free to strengthen a rival and meet their coach's request. Worse, to give the piece that Dorival wants so much and who, in a way, lived one of the best moments of his career with him.

After rejecting all the exchange options offered by the rival, who in turn refused the requested names (read more below), São Paulo only sees two possible scenarios: definitive sale or paid loan, with a transfer fee and possibly a purchase option at the end of the contract.​

The talks should continue, as Dorival insists on having Alisson and the Itaquera team already has a verbal agreement with the player. The coach himself called him, even promised him a starting position, and convinced him. Because of this, São Paulo's management opted to sideline him and not use him in games anymore. Even coach Hernán Crespo showed internal discomfort with number 25, saying he "washed his hands" about his stay or not.

THE CASE

Alisson's signing was requested by coach Dorival Júnior at rival Corinthians. And the negotiations have been dragging on since the beginning of the month. Therefore, Tricolor decided to somewhat sideline the player, not including him in the games. He was left out of the victory over São Bernardo midweek and again was not included for the classic on Sunday (18), precisely against the east zone team, in Itaquera, for the Paulista Championship. Crespo himself confirmed the information.

The new president Harry Massis was informed by the football executive Rui Costa of the current stage of the deal. And how the initial negotiations for player exchanges ended up not working out.

The first Tricolor choice for an exchange was for fellow midfielder Ranielli. But Corinthians did not accept the 'offer'. A second name was suggested by São Paulo, José Martínez. However, the Venezuelan is stuck in his home country due to political problems, without a passport, and has not yet returned to Parque São Jorge. That is, in quotes, since his girlfriend has been posting photos of the couple enjoying life in Caracas. To complicate matters, his agent informed the rival that he has no interest in seeing his client at Morumbi.

While the clubs are at a standstill, Dorival acted behind the scenes. He called Alisson and, according to ‘ESPN’, convinced number 25 to change clubs. The reason given to São Paulo's directors is that he seeks more playing time. Which is strange, as he was a starter in Tricolor's season opener against Mirassol. And he is only not being included by Crespo because of the negotiation with Corinthians.

AMT found that Massis agreed with Costa's plan to toughen the stance. They do not want to strengthen a rival easily. Either Corinthians gives in and provides who São Paulo asked for, or pays an amount deemed fair by Morumbi.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed in December that Alisson lost his essential status in the squad with coach Hernán Crespo.

There was an expectation from number 25's staff that a proposal would arrive from Cruzeiro. For a simple reason: his closeness with businessman Pedro Lourenço, owner of the Minas Gerais club's SAF. And because 'Pedrinho BH' had suggested Alisson's name in the last two transfer windows.

The reason for the almost obsession of the Minas Gerais boss for the São Paulo player dates back to the past. Alisson was revealed at Cruzeiro and was part of the youth categories of the blue team when Lourenço financially helped and had an informal role in the lower layers.

In short, Alisson is a kind of 'protégé' of Pedrinho BH. To the point that the businessman helped him at the end of 2022, when the player was sidelined from São Paulo due to psychological problems.

All this closeness, of course, means that Alisson's name is constantly probed at his former home.

Originally a right-winger, Alisson has been playing as a midfielder for Tricolor since 2023, when he was improvised by Dorival Júnior during the Brazilian Cup title campaign. It was the player's comeback, previously criticized and with personal issues.

The good phase even led to his name being considered for a call-up to the National Team, as we mentioned above, but the arrival of Hernán Crespo and the change to a three-defender system made him lose space within São Paulo itself, overshadowed by Marcos Antônio and Bobadilla, becoming a reserve.

Alisson has a good relationship with Dorival. It was under the coach's guidance during the historic Brazilian Cup title campaign that the questioned forward was moved back to midfielder and enjoyed a moment of idolization with the Tricolores. Our former commander even pre-called number 25 for the Brazilian National Team (believe it or not).

Therefore, it's natural that his name is being mentioned on the east side now that Dorival has moved there.

Even in a low phase, number 25 finished last year as the fourth player with the most appearances in the season. He played 54 games, 14 of them coming off the bench. In only two games he was listed did he not take the field. He scored just one goal in the year.

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