Oscar announces retirement from football and laments: “I wanted more” | OneFootball

This Saturday, Oscar announced his retirement from football. The now former attacking midfielder made the announcement through São Paulo’s social media channels, the last club of his career. At 34, the former player had to hang up his boots earlier than expected because of a heart problem.

In the video, Oscar recalled the scare he went through at the end of 2025 and lamented the premature end of his journey on the pitch.

“I took the test and ended up fainting. My blood pressure kept dropping and my heart was stopping. Then they gave me cardiac massage. I only remember fainting. It happened very fast. I could see my son telling me to come back. It’s hard. I wanted to do more for São Paulo. I wanted to play more. I think I still had both the football and the age to keep playing. But unfortunately, this happened. I’m going to retire and keep supporting São Paulo,” he said.

“I just want to thank everyone for the affection you’ve always shown me, all the São Paulo fans who always supported me. Not only São Paulo supporters, but everyone who followed me. Thank you very much for everything,” he added.

The “soap opera” surrounding Oscar’s departure from São Paulo came to an end in recent days. The parties reached an agreement over the payment of amounts the midfielder was still owed and, last Thursday, signed the termination of the player’s contract. The end of the deal has already been published in the BID (CBF Daily Information Bulletin).

The parties agreed that São Paulo will pay a total of R$ 10 million to Oscar and his staff, an amount that will be paid in installments over two years. The figure refers to signing bonuses, overdue image rights, and part of the commission owed to the player’s agent.

The outstanding amounts claimed by Oscar referred to 2025, the year in which the player wore the tricolor shirt. The player would also still have been entitled to amounts for the remaining time on his contract, since his deal with the club was valid until the end of 2027. Those sums were initially spread out until the end of the contract, but with the termination in sight, his staff began demanding them.

In the view of those who work with the player, Oscar would have had the right to claim the amounts he would receive until the end of the contract. The midfielder, however, wanted to be paid only for the period in which he actually played for the club, that is, until the end of 2025. São Paulo, in turn, was also seeking an agreement to pay an amount proportional to the time the player represented the club.

Therefore, during the negotiations, the midfielder gave up receiving just over R$ 50 million to which he would have been entitled, according to the report.

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Looking back at the Oscar case

São Paulo decided to bring forward its preseason tests. On November 11, 2025, the first day of examinations, Oscar fainted when he was already near the end of the medical evaluation. The player felt unwell on the exercise bike and was promptly attended to by the team coordinating the tests.

The athlete was taken to Albert Einstein Hospital, where an incident involving cardiac alterations was detected. He underwent a battery of tests and, two days later, was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope. After the incident, Oscar remained on rest at home.

The fracture in three vertebrae had already affected the player, who suffered a hard fall and had many difficulties moving around for quite some time. With the diagnosis of vasovagal syncope, the warning signs tripled for Oscar, who decided to end his career to avoid future problems.

Out for the 2025 season, Oscar’s last match was on July 19, against Corinthians, when he suffered the fracture. The player made only 21 appearances for the tricolor club, with two goals and five assists.

Oscar’s career

Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, born in 1991, came through at São Paulo and began his professional career in 2008. He stood out at Internacional before moving to Chelsea, where he played between 2012 and 2017 and won titles such as the Premier League and the Europa League.

For the Brazilian national team, he won the 2013 Confederations Cup, was an Olympic silver medalist in 2012, and played in the 2014 World Cup.

In 2017, he moved to Shanghai SIPG in China, where he won multiple domestic titles. He returned to São Paulo in 2025. In total, he made 35 appearances in the tricolor shirt, in addition to two goals and seven assists,

“It was a dream. I remember watching São Paulo’s matches. Just being at São Paulo was already a dream. I remember when São Paulo came to get me in Campinas. I cried and got emotional. My family and I were very happy with this return to São Paulo, to finish my career here, after traveling the world. Everything started here,” Oscar concluded.

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