Corinthians sold 30% of Pedro to Zenit, lose out if he joins Arabia | OneFootball

In August of last year, Corinthians negotiated the 30% of economic rights they still held for the attacking midfielder Pedro with Zenit, from Russia, according to information released by ge.globo. However, the transaction was not officially announced by the clubs at the time.

With the sale of the remaining share, Timão no longer has any direct participation in the player's rights. Now, the only way for the club to profit from a future transfer of Pedro will be through FIFA's solidarity mechanism, which guarantees 2.5% of the value of international negotiations. This is because the athlete played in the Corinthians youth academy between the ages of 12 and 18.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

Currently, Pedro is in negotiations to move from Zenit to Al-Ittihad, from Saudi Arabia, in a deal estimated at 35 million euros — about R$ 222 million at the current exchange rate. If Corinthians had kept their 30% share, they would be entitled to approximately R$ 66.6 million.

The amount received by the club from the sale of the percentage remains confidential, but according to information from ge.globo, the sum was much lower than the amount the Saudis are now offering.

The report attempted to contact Augusto Melo, president of Corinthians at the time of the negotiation, but received no response. Former club officials confirmed the operation, under the condition of anonymity, but also avoided revealing figures.

From the amount raised, about R$ 6.5 million (equivalent to 1 million euros at the time) was used to settle a debt related to the signing of Yuri Alberto. This agreement, closed in January 2023, also involved four other players: Gustavo Mantuan, Du Queiroz, Ivan, and Robert Renan.

In a statement, former president Duilio Monteiro Alves, responsible for closing the sale to Zenit, stated that “there was no subsequent settlement to be made by Corinthians.”

At that time, the club was facing financial difficulties and opted to negotiate its share to strengthen the cash flow. The situation was even more delicate because the team was fighting against relegation in the Brazilian Championship.

The attacking midfielder Pedro was sold to Zenit in 2023, when he was only 17 years old. At the time, Corinthians pocketed 9 million euros (approximately R$ 46.7 million at the time). The youngster left the club with only 22 appearances for the professional team and one goal scored.

Check out the statement released by Duilio Monteiro Alves, former president of Corinthians:

I received with enormous surprise the news of the sale of the 30% of Pedro's economic rights to Zenit, by the Augusto Melo administration. It is simply absurd that such a negotiation took place without any announcement from the club. All this demonstrates how urgent it was to impeach this citizen, despite so many supporting him until the last moment.

I also inform you that what GE.Com reports in Bruno Cassucci's article is a lie: Corinthians had no pending issues with Zenit regarding economic rights, something I would have explained if the reporter had sought me out. In the acquisition of Yuri Alberto's rights, the transaction was made with the exchange for rights of other players, and there was no subsequent settlement to be made by Corinthians.

As this is verifiable by the player's acquisition contract, I will make a request to the Deliberative Council to clarify this information and to prevent flimsy excuses from being used to cover up and justify totally harmful decisions. From the press, I also expect more responsibility before swallowing this type of fake news.

Sincerely,Duilio Monteiro Alves

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