Who gets a new deal? The 9 players out of contract in 2026 | OneFootball

This break for the World Cup will also give São Paulo a chance to define the future of some of its players, whose contracts expire at the end of 2026. There are nine players whose deals with the club will end in December of this year. Some of them are essential to Tricolor.

They are names in very different situations: academy goalkeepers Young and Felipe Preis, unused center-back Matheus Belém, as well as Rafael Tolói, defensive midfielder Luan, loanees Artur and Cauly, and club idols Lucas and Calleri.

All of these players can sign a pre-contract with any other team starting next July 1. Two of them, as AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, are already certain not to remain at São Paulo.

DUO ON THE WAY OUT

The Morumbi club is expected to soon lose two youngsters from Cotia: goalkeeper Young and center-back Matheus Belém. However, the two situations are different. Through his representatives, the keeper informally said that he has no plans to renew his contract.

Matheus Belém, meanwhile, is expected to leave São Paulo by the club’s own decision. Loaned to Camboriú at the start of the year, the player ended up returning after the Campeonato Catarinense ended, without any proposal to extend the loan for the Série D campaign.

Tricolor’s goal is to try to reach an agreement to release him in this transfer window, since he has no longer been in the plans ever since signing that new deal in 2024, when he stopped even appearing among the squad call-ups.

DEPENDS ON DORIVAL

Rafael Tolói is likely to end up renewing his deal, even because of the team’s lack of depth in defense. The club is moving quickly to sign at least one more center-back, with Portuguese defender Domingos Duarte close to agreeing, and is assessing Tolói’s stay. When he has played since returning, he has not disappointed and has looked solid. He is rated highly internally.

Luan, as always, has a completely uncertain future at the club he loves. The defensive midfielder lost ground with the arrival of Dorival Jr., who prefers his “favorite,” Pablo Maia, with whom he won the 2023 Copa do Brasil. But he is also someone who could benefit from the lack of options in the more defensive midfield role.

Coach Dorival, however, has already told the board that he wants “stronger” names with greater physical ability for midfield, such as Newton, whom Tricolor is negotiating with Botafogo to sign. Luan always receives inquiries from other Brazilian clubs, but he always reiterates his desire to stay and fight for space at the club he loves so much.

APPROVED?

Two players who arrived this season are on loan deals: attacking midfielder Cauly, who came from Bahia, and winger Artur, from Botafogo.

In Cauly’s case, the purchase of 50% of his economic rights becomes mandatory for São Paulo if the player appears in 25 matches, playing at least 45 minutes in each of them. So far, he has played 13 matches under those conditions. If the target is reached, Tricolor will have to pay 2 million euros (around R$11.9 million at the current exchange rate) to Bahia for the midfielder.

In Artur’s contract, there is a clause that would force São Paulo to buy the player if he appears in 60% of the matches, staying on the field for at least 45 minutes in each of them. At the rate the forward has been performing, the target should be reached, since he has played 17 times since arriving, with almost no rest, recording three goals and two assists so far.

The amount São Paulo would have to pay Botafogo would be 6 million euros (R$35.9 million). Artur has already made it clear in some interviews that, if it were up to him, he would stay at Tricolor, where he arrived and adapted quickly.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Lucas and Calleri obviously no longer need to prove their love and dedication to Tricolor. The problem is that this alone is not enough. The main thing, which is what happens on the field, has been lacking for some time. The club-trained midfielder has been unable to put together a run of matches because of various physical problems, the latest and most serious being a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon (calcaneal tendon) in his right leg, for which he has already successfully undergone surgery.

The No. 9 has also dealt with recent injuries and also underwent surgery last season. He came back flying this year, with a run of seven goals in nine games, but now he is enduring the worst goal drought of his entire career, with 11 matches without scoring.

Both are among the most experienced players in the squad and also take on leadership roles and the captaincy of the team. Calleri is 32, while Lucas is already 33. Despite his poor run, the Argentine is still Tricolor’s top scorer this year, with 11 goals, in addition to three assists in 30 matches this season.

The No. 7, meanwhile, has managed to play only 17 matches in 2026, with three goals and one assist. And he will not play again this year because of the seriousness of the injury. At best, he could return to training toward the end of the season, but São Paulo would only bring him back into action in 2027, of course, if it keeps its star.

The duo divides opinion among the fans and, in my view, they could stay at the club, but on shorter contracts. One year with an option to renew for another based on targets achieved on the pitch could be a good alternative in the case of the veterans. The recent—and numerous—injuries should serve as a warning to the club, which cannot afford to have its two main names constantly unavailable.

Oh, and there is also fourth-choice goalkeeper Felipe Preis, who was promoted to the senior squad last year, was on the bench on a few occasions, but never played. He should also leave the club or be loaned out.

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