Unveiled and registered, Duarte says Rafinha won him over | OneFootball

After a long delay in negotiations over his arrival, in addition to having to wait for the club to get out of the transfer ban, Portuguese center-back Domingos Duarte was finally presented as São Paulo’s new signing this Friday (7) at the Barra Funda training center.

Shortly before giving a press conference at the venue, the defender’s name had already appeared in the CBF’s Daily Information Bulletin (BID), meaning he was officially cleared to make his debut as early as this Saturday (8), in the match against Grêmio in the Brasileirão.

The commanding defender explained why the deal with Tricolor dragged on for so long and revealed that, in the end, director Rafinha was decisive in reassuring him and convincing him to sign with the club.

“It’s true that there was that period when things moved forward and then backward, but that was all more of a family matter and not a matter of whether I wanted to come or not — I always wanted to. It’s true that it’s a big change, but I’m very happy to be here,” said Domingos, who went into more detail on the subject.

“It was more for family reasons, because I have a 6-month-old daughter and it’s complicated for my wife and her to be here alone. It’s a very big move from Europe to here, and that’s why I had some doubts, but after speaking with Rafinha, he managed to convince all of us as a family, and I think it was the right step to take. And here we are, very happy and very eager to take on this new challenge in my career,” he concluded.

After being punished by FIFA with a transfer ban for more than ten days due to the non-payment of an installment in the transfer of Marcos Antonio from Lazio, Tricolor finally settled the issue and was once again free to make signings. And Domingos Duarte spoke about how he dealt with the delicate situation at his new team.

“It was calm. There’s always that uneasiness, but in every conversation I had with Rafinha, with the coaching staff, with many people here at the club who are always there to help, they always reassured me that this transfer ban issue was going to be resolved. It was resolved, I’m ready to help now, and that’s the most important thing,” Duarte said.

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