Marcelo Paz reveals Bakayoko and El Shaarawy were offered to Corinthians | OneFootball

Corinthians was given the opportunity to sign two well-known names from European football during the current transfer window. Tiemoué Bakayoko and Stephan El Shaarawy were offered to the club, but Timão’s financial situation prevented any progress in the talks. The information was revealed by the club’s executive football director, Marcelo Paz, in an interview with Metrópoles TV.

Both players are free agents, which would allow a possible signing without paying a transfer fee. Even so, Corinthians is currently unable to register reinforcements because of the three transfer bans currently in effect, two imposed by FIFA and another by the National Chamber for Dispute Resolution (CNRD) of the CBF.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Commenting on the market moves, Marcelo Paz confirmed that the names reached the club’s board and explained why Corinthians did not open negotiations.

“It was something that happened, but we couldn’t sign them at that moment, partly because of the transfer ban. But Bakayoko and El Shaarawy were offered to Corinthians. Two great players with global impact. There were more, but I’ll just mention these two here, because we couldn’t negotiate internally due to the transfer ban and the priority of paying the players’ salaries. The first resources that have come in have been used to pay the players’ salaries and then the transfer ban,” Marcelo Paz said.

This stance is directly related to the priorities established by the current management. In addition to the sanctions preventing new registrations, Corinthians is also dealing with financial issues involving its own squad. Last Monday (24), the club paid one of the overdue amounts related to image rights for the men’s football team, while other debts remain outstanding. In women’s football, there are two months of overdue payments, according to the information released.

Given this, Marcelo Paz stressed that the board intends to avoid new commitments that could increase the club’s debt. The executive said the priority is to regularize existing obligations before taking on new costs in the market.

“We have to be financially responsible, seek to honor our commitments, and not take on new commitments that we cannot pay. Not create new debts. The fact that we are not signing players with very high transfer fees, signing bonuses, high salaries, and very long contracts... So all of this is already being done. We are not creating new debts, and we are paying off previous debts,” he emphasized.

Bakayoko, 32, plays as a defensive midfielder and built much of his career in European football. The Frenchman played for teams such as Monaco, Chelsea, and Milan, in addition to PAOK of Greece, his last club before becoming a free agent in January 2026.

El Shaarawy, meanwhile, is 33 and plays mainly in attacking positions. The Italian also had spells at Milan and Monaco, in addition to a long run with Roma. The forward left the club from the Italian capital in May this year and, like Bakayoko, is available on the market.

Even though both players could be signed without transfer costs, any move by Corinthians first depends on resolving the blocks preventing the registration of new players. The financial situation also weighs on decision-making, with the board putting the payment of outstanding obligations to the squad and the debts responsible for the transfer bans ahead of bringing in reinforcements.

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