Santos seek to avert squad crisis amid delayed payments | OneFootball

Santos are working to avert a squad crisis as delayed payments, including image rights and some FGTS contributions, continue to bite.

According to Globo.com, players have held meetings this season to understand the situation, including in Ecuador in April before their Copa Sudamericana opener.

The club carries more than R$ one billion in debt and faces serious cash-flow strain to pay the senior squad. Settling what is owed to the players is the board’s priority, with recruitment and efforts to lift a FIFA transfer ban placed in the background. The issues are interlinked.

Santos can only register new signings if the ban is lifted, as they are barred from signing for three transfer windows. The FIFA sanction stems from a R$ 12 million debt to Monaco over the Jean Lucas deal, the midfielder now at Bahia.

There is also the Neymar matter, with more than R$ 90 million owed to NR Sports, which manages his image rights. The club is seeking funds to cover the six months left on the No 10’s contract.

The forward is due to report back at CT Rei Pelé on Friday after playing at the World Cup with Brazil. The board will meet him to map out the second half of the year. While confident he will stay and the contract be fulfilled, the club is acting cautiously over Neymar’s future.

Source: Globo.com