Oscar’s final year: São Paulo’s biggest letdown for fans | OneFootball

Oscar arrived at the beginning of the year as the major signing for São Paulo for 2025. With part of his high wages paid by the sponsor, he wore the number 8 jersey to try to erase the tarnished image from his first stint at the club that discovered him, when he left after legal battles.

And unfortunately, the midfielder could not erase the negative memories that some fans still had. And perhaps it even worsened.

In a poll conducted on the YouTube channel of AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, Oscar was overwhelmingly voted the biggest disappointment of the year at Tricolor, with 74% of the votes among more than 17,000 participants in the poll.

The second most disappointing for São Paulo fans was another 2025 signing, left-back Wendell, who received 12% of the fans' votes. Like Oscar, he arrived as one of the team's great hopes, coming from Porto and with recent appearances for the Brazilian National Team. And he spent more time under the care of the club's Medical Department than on the field.

In 3rd place was Lucas, with 10%, another who couldn't play this year due to knee problems. Closing the poll, with 4% of the fans' choices, was right-back Cédric Soares. The Portuguese player was another who arrived this year but had a poor performance in the majority of São Paulo's matches.

The attacking midfielder Oscar is expected to announce the end of his professional football career by the end of the year. The decision came after the 34-year-old veteran was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope, suffered during the club's medical exams on November 11.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR found out that the number 8 has been saying goodbye to teammates and club staff through a mobile messaging app.

According to ESPN, São Paulo had scheduled a meeting with the 34-year-old player next week to discuss the future. And with the decision to hang up his boots underway, the tendency is that he will be invited to continue working at the club, in a behind-the-scenes role in professional football. Oscar's contract runs until the end of 2027.

On the field, the midfielder could produce very little. He played only 23 matches, 19 as a starter, scoring two goals and providing five assists.

But, besides the illness that will lead to his retirement, he also dealt with various physical problems. He was one of the record holders for absences from the team this season, missing 36 matches due to injuries.

Injury and edema in the left thigh, fracture of three vertebrae, and a calf muscle injury were the obstacles for the athlete before the terrible news of the syncope at the end of November.

It wasn't as Oscar and the fans wanted, but, of course, the most important thing is always health. May the midfielder make his decision and, perhaps, by working in other internal areas of Tricolor, he can finally win the hearts of all São Paulo fans.

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