Santos delay Monaco debt payment amid uncertainty over Racing deal for Martirena | OneFootball

According to Globo.com, Santos have delayed paying a 12 million reais debt to Monaco after talks to sign Racing right-back Martirena faltered, opting to prioritise other obligations such as two months of overdue image-rights payments to players.

The club cannot register new players due to a FIFA transfer ban tied to outstanding sums from the purchase of midfielder Jean Lucas.

Santos had been awaiting the 25-year-old Martirena on loan in a swap involving defender Adonis Frías, until Mexican side Atlas stepped into the negotiations.

Atlas tabled a permanent deal and a higher salary for the defender. No final decision has been made, but the indication is that Adonis will choose Mexico over Argentina, which means Martirena would not join Santos.

With no reinforcements close, the board is in no hurry to clear the FIFA debt. FIFA ruled against Santos on 20 May 2025, and their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was rejected. The sanction blocks signings for three windows or until 2.032 million euros is paid.

Monaco launched the case after Santos paid the first two instalments of a 6 million euros fee, on 31 August 2023 and 30 June 2024, then missed the final 2 million euros due on 31 January 2025. The club sought to split that last payment, half on 30 August 2025 and half on 31 January 2026, but Monaco refused.

Source: Globo.com

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