Sporting want to sell centre-back in January, Palmeiro seeks suitors | OneFootball

Sporting wants to sell Rafael Pontelo in this winter transfer window. However, as our newspaper reveals in this Leonino Exclusive, the task has been quite complicated for several months now, since there have been no offers for the center-back, who was signed while Ruben Amorim was still the coach of the Alvalade club.

According to information gathered from a source close to the process, Sporting’s SAD has already received some offers for the Brazilian defender, but only for a loan. To date, no club has shown interest in signing Rafael Pontelo on a permanent deal, so Bernardo Palmeiro is already on the ground looking for interested parties.

Signed from Leixões for 700 thousand euros in January 2024, the center-back never managed to show why he was brought in as a reinforcement for the Alvalade club and was demoted to the B team.

The player made his debut for the first team on January 9, 2024, in Sporting’s home match against Tondela, in a game counting for the round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup, in which the Alvalade side won 4-0, with goals from Pote (twice) and Gyokeres (twice). The defender started the match but was substituted at halftime, having played only one more minute in the away game at Vizela.

In 2025/26, Rafael Pontelo – valued at 300 thousand euros – played only three games for the Alvalade club’s B team, totaling just 72 minutes. Despite being a regular presence in João Gião’s squad lists, the player has not started a match since the beginning of the season.

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