São Paulo agree Moreira exit to Arab club on a free transfer | OneFootball

São Paulo has agreed to release right-back João Moreira, 22, to Al-Nasr of the United Arab Emirates.

The player will sign a deal with the Dubai club until 2029 and already traveled on Thursday night (23) to undergo medical exams.

To make the deal possible, São Paulo agreed to terminate the player’s contract amicably — which had been valid until June 2027 — without requiring immediate financial compensation. In return, Tricolor kept 25% of Moreira’s economic rights to profit from a future sale. It is still a contrast, given that the team is going through serious financial problems and is currently under a FIFA transfer ban.

Technical evaluation and recent history

The board’s decision to facilitate his departure is in line with the process of trimming the wage bill and reshaping the squad under Dorival Júnior.

After spending a trial period at the Barra Funda training center, the youngster failed to convince the coaching staff and ended up out of the plans for the season.

Developed in the youth ranks at Cotia as a major prospect, Moreira saw his time at Morumbi marked by successive injuries that prevented him from establishing a run in the first team, which he was promoted to in 2022 by Rogério Ceni. In total, he made 27 appearances for the club, 18 of them as a starter, scoring one goal and providing three assists.

At the start of 2026, the full-back returned from a loan spell at Porto that was ended early, where he had been playing for the B team (his last official match came in August 2025). Since then, he was included in the squad for four São Paulo matches, all in the Brazilian Championship, but did not make it onto the field.

With no room in São Paulo’s squad after returning from Portugal, the player sought a move to Arab football in search of regular playing time and minutes on the pitch.

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