Saudi enquiry made São Paulo quickly drop Arboleda return plan | OneFootball

Last Monday (18), even before Dorival Júnior said his first sentence as São Paulo’s new head coach at his official presentation, football executive Rui Costa asked to speak. He moved to deny a report that had emerged a day earlier claiming the club would reintegrate Arboleda. According to him, the idea had never crossed his mind. As far as he was concerned, maybe so. But there were indeed people who wanted the Ecuadorian back. And more than discipline, the most plausible reasons are on the other side of the world, more precisely in Saudi Arabia.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, Pepe Chamurro, the agent of the 34-year-old center back, had a good reason to convince the Morumbi club to keep his player training separately. A hoped-for way of making money from him became more tangible after an inquiry from the Asian country.

Things are still at an early stage, but it is already causing a certain buzz in the halls of Barra Funda. A Saudi club, whose name was not disclosed, is said to have contacted Arboleda’s camp with interest in signing him in the next transfer window. And for that, it would be willing to pay compensation to Tricolor.

That possibility fills São Paulo’s executives with hope, as they had been thinking about reintegrating Arboleda not only so he could be used by Dorival (which, yes, the coach wanted), but also to improve his image on the market a little. Previous approaches from Brazilian clubs did not move forward because the obvious came to light: besides the distrust surrounding the player, who is seen as undisciplined, no one wanted to pay to have him.

A scenario that changes completely with the Saudi interest…

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed at the beginning of the month that one of the reasons São Paulo gave up on terminating Arboleda’s contract was mainly due to the suspicion that the 34-year-old center back had already reached a verbal agreement with another team.

Well then, it was true.

Sources from São Paulo’s top brass told the outlet that Arboleda and his camp wanted to get out of their deal with the Morumbi club because they were in talks with Athletico-PR.

According to São Paulo’s executives, the Paraná side were close to agreeing salary terms to sign the defender as soon as he secured his release from São Paulo.

São Paulo’s executives waited for contact from Athletico so they could release Arboleda at the opening of the new transfer window in July. But of course, nothing ever progressed.

THE CASE

Arboleda is back at São Paulo. After almost a month away, the 34-year-old center back reported back on the afternoon of the 4th at the Barra Funda training center and, as AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR had already revealed, it was decided that he will be fined and will continue training separately until the next transfer window, when he is expected to be transferred.

Sources from São Paulo’s top brass pointed out some of the reasons why the plan to terminate the Ecuadorian’s contract, which runs until the end of 2027, was abandoned.

“We are prioritizing financial protection and disciplinary control over an immediate rupture,” said one of the people consulted.

After reporting back to the Barra Funda training center accompanied by his representatives, the Ecuadorian was formally reprimanded by the football department leadership, made up of Rui Costa and Rafinha, who made clear their dissatisfaction with his unjustified absence.

As an administrative punishment, the player suffered a severe cut in his earnings, corresponding to one month’s salary, and remains subject to further fines under the club’s internal regulations.

But the refusal to terminate the contract is based on a technical risk analysis. Legally, a dismissal for cause was weakened by the player’s return before the 30-day period that characterizes job abandonment, which could drag the club into an uncertain and costly legal dispute.

Without completing 30 consecutive days of disappearance, Arboleda has grounds, especially at FIFA, not only to obtain a legal win over São Paulo, but also to pocket compensation. “People look only at Brazilian labor laws, but forget this is an international case,” said a club source.

On the other hand, an amicable termination was ruled out because it was considered a strategic contradiction: besides generating no financial compensation, it would allow the defender to strengthen direct rivals at no cost, turning an act of indiscipline into a direct benefit for the offender.

“He never hid that his goal was to leave São Paulo. Clearly there is no atmosphere for him to stay. But authorizing his departure as if nothing had happened, besides fulfilling his wish, would create a dangerous precedent for other players who want to do the same. There is still one year left on his contract. And São Paulo cannot afford that,” the source said.

AMT had already previously revealed that the Morumbi club was well aware that there were parties interested in Arboleda just waiting for the contract termination so they could sign him.

Given this scenario, São Paulo adopted a productive isolation for the player. Arboleda will undergo a full battery of clinical exams and performance tests to assess the impact of the inactivity period, followed by an individualized physical reconditioning schedule.

First and foremost, this is a way to show interested clubs that the center back is in full condition to be transferred. “It is a stage of physical and disciplinary recovery, whose ultimate goal is to keep the player market-ready so he can be transferred or included in swaps as soon as the next transfer window opens,” summarized a source consulted by AMT.

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