Mattos says Santos cleared arrears, plays down Arthur talk and explains Neymar absence | OneFootball

Santos executive Alexandre Mattos explained Neymar’s omission from the Copa do Brasil quarter-final first leg at Palmeiras on Wednesday, despite the forward initially being named by coach Cuca. According to Globo.com, he said the decision was about managing workload.

Mattos stressed Neymar remains fully available for Santos and described the schedule as brutal, with the club competing on three fronts. Citing the player’s age, 33 or 34, he said staff and the football department agreed to rest him with a meeting with Corinthians and the second leg at home ahead.

He added Neymar would have played without issue, framing the call as strategy. Mattos also said the forward is a model professional who leads the dressing room and helps the squad.

On finances, Mattos said Santos had cleared two overdue image-rights payments, leaving only the current month outstanding by three or four days.

He acknowledged outstanding debts affect recruitment, with the club under a FIFA transfer ban due to money owed to Monaco over Jean Lucas. Midfielder Arthur is on the radar, but he said the priority is to tidy the finances and, once new revenue arrives and the transfer ban is paid off, consider signings that fit the budget, noting another payroll is due in 10 or 15 days.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”