Zé Ivaldo out of favour at Santos, now last-choice in defence | OneFootball

According to Globo.com, Zé Ivaldo has fallen out of favour at Santos, now Cuca's last option in defence and omitted from recent squads.

His last involvement with the squad was on eight April against Deportivo Cuenca, the Copa Sul-Americana opener, a 1-0 defeat in which he stayed on the bench. His most recent appearance came three days earlier, a loss to Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro. With Igor Vinícius and Mayke unavailable, Cuca used him at right-back for 72 minutes and he was involved in Pedro's equaliser.

Recently the centre-back has been overtaken by academy graduate João Ananias, who started against Bahia in the league and Recoleta (PAR) in the Copa Sul-Americana. Seen as a prospect, Ananias is competing with Luan Peres to partner Lucas Veríssimo.

Zé Ivaldo arrived last year on loan from Cruzeiro with an obligation to buy if targets were met. Uncertainty over his stay sidelined him at stages of 2025, before Juan Pablo Vojvoda restored him and he ended the year as a starter. At the start of this season Santos paid one million dollars, about R$ 4.9 million, to keep him.

In 2026 he struggled in the Campeonato Paulista and Brasileiro, and by February had conceded more penalties on his own than the other Série A teams. After Lucas Veríssimo arrived he lost his place, with Cuca preferring Veríssimo and Luan Peres at the back. He has played 12 games this year and is under contract until December 2028.

Source: Globo.com