Welcome, sheriff: free of transfer ban, São Paulo unveil Domingos Duarte | OneFootball

Finally, with the debt to Lazio paid and free from the transfer ban, São Paulo officially announced on Friday morning (6) the signing of 31-year-old Portuguese center-back Domingos Duarte.

The player, who was with Getafe, arrives at Morumbi on a free transfer after his contract with the Spanish club expired and signed a deal running until July 31, 2028.

The signing strengthens the team’s defense after the registration clearance at FIFA, bringing in a player with extensive experience in the top flight of Spanish football and appearances for the Portuguese national team.

Defensive Solidity in La Liga and International Experience

In the last two seasons wearing the Getafe shirt, Domingos Duarte was part of campaigns that placed the club among the most efficient defensive units in the Spanish Championship:

2025/26 season: 38 goals conceded by the team, a mark bettered only by Real Madrid (35) and Barcelona (36).

2024/25 season: 39 goals conceded, matching champion Barcelona’s total and trailing only Athletic Bilbao (29), Atlético de Madrid (30), and Real Madrid (38).

On the international stage, the defender has earned call-ups to Portugal’s youth teams and senior squad. First called up in 2019 during the Euro qualifiers, he made his debut in 2020 in a 7-0 win over Andorra at the Estádio da Luz, and was also part of Portugal’s World Cup qualifying campaign for 2022.

Professional Career

Born in Cascais, Domingos de Sousa Coutinho Meneses Duarte began his development at Estoril Praia and completed his youth career at Sporting. Before moving to Spanish football, he played for Belenenses (2016/17) and GD Chaves (2017/18).

His journey in Spain began in the 2018/19 season with Deportivo La Coruña, followed by notable spells at Granada (2019-2022) and Getafe (2022-2026), before agreeing to move to Brazilian football.

Drawn-Out Negotiation

The saga to sign Duarte was a long one and lasted practically the entire preseason the team held during the break in the calendar due to the World Cup.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, in information confirmed by president Harry Massis himself, the center-back has a newborn daughter, which created some resistance from his wife and family about moving to Brazil.

Because of that, Duarte agreed to and turned down the offer made by Tricolor twice, which even led the club to give up on him altogether. Pressured by his agents, the player himself called the club, apologized, and accepted the salary terms that had originally been set.

Tricolor was not the first Brazilian club to monitor the Portuguese stopper. In 2021, Flamengo opened negotiations to sign him, but backed out because of Granada’s high asking price.

Busy Transfer Window

Duarte is the fourth signing announced by Tricolor in the current window. Before him, Victor Sá, Newton, and fellow Portuguese player Aurélio Buta had already been made official. The club still has yet to announce Iago, the last of the signings, who arrived on loan from Bahia.

Of all the names, it is no exaggeration to say that the Portuguese defender is the one generating the most expectations among São Paulo fans, not only because of the strong reviews from the press in his home country, but also because of Getafe’s numbers in the last Spanish league season and his experience with the Portuguese national team.

At a more superficial glance, he arrives as an undisputed starter in one of the most problematic areas of the season, constantly hit by injuries and involved in controversies such as Dória’s departure, after he said his family had received threats, and Arboleda’s near-exit, before being reinstated after being forgiven by the board and coaching staff.

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