Pedrinho on Ukraine stay: possible Corinthians return, club love

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Central do Timão

·5 February 2026

Pedrinho on Ukraine stay: possible Corinthians return, club love

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

The midfielder Pedrinho, currently at Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and a product of Corinthians' youth academy, gave an interview to the portal Flashscore and commented on some speculations about a possible return to the club at Parque São Jorge. The player emphasized his affection for the Alvinegro and made it clear that he has not received any contacts for a return.

“I believe there was no interest. I have always had a great affection for Corinthians, so if there was interest, I would like to return to the club. I was very happy (in Brazil). It was just speculation,” he said. Pedrinho emerged at Corinthians after winning the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior in 2017, when he was the team's main player. Shortly after the competition, he was promoted to the professional squad, then led by coach Fábio Carille.

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Photo: Shakhtar Donetsk/Disclosure

Wearing the Corinthians jersey, the "Son of Terrão" was not an undisputed starter for the team, but he had a successful, albeit inconsistent, stint in terms of performance. In total, he scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 141 games (85 as a starter), with 58 wins, 40 draws, and 43 losses – a 50.5% success rate. Additionally, he won: the Brazilian Championship (2017) and the São Paulo State Championship (2017, 2018, and 2019).

At the beginning of the first half of 2020, he was sold to Benfica in Portugal for 18 million euros (R$ 110 million at the exchange rate at the time). At that time, the Portuguese club was managed by Jorge Jesus, who had just left Flamengo. In Lisbon, he did not have many opportunities, scoring only one goal and providing three assists in 31 matches. Without a consistent run, he transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine for the 2021/2022 season.

During this period, he scored four goals and provided two assists in 19 games. However, at the beginning of 2022, the war between Russia and Ukraine began, causing many Brazilian athletes playing in Eastern Europe to leave the area through the conflict clause. As a result, he spent between mid-2022 and 2024 on loan to Atlético-MG. At the Minas Gerais team, he had a less remarkable stint, with 58 games, two goals, and four assists. After the loan ended, he returned to Ukrainian football.

Since then, he has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists in 58 matches. In the 2025/2026 season, so far, he has six goals and seven assists. Finally, he spoke about the possibility of acquiring Ukrainian citizenship to play for the local national team: “To be honest, I found out about this on the internet. Of course, I heard rumors, but with my agents, I'm not sure what was said and if there was really any interest. One day I woke up startled by so many news stories about this subject, without even knowing.”

“It doesn't just depend on me; there are many other factors that influence this. I haven't talked to the coach or anyone from the staff. Day by day, I'll be able to find out if this is true or not, to make a decision. But, until then, nothing has been discussed,” he concluded.

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