Leadership, height and strength: who is Duarte, São Paulo's new signing | OneFootball

* From contributor Pimenta

São Paulo continue to intensify their search for reinforcements, and the defensive system is the board’s main focus. With that in mind, the club are looking for a center-back with leadership, physical presence, and international experience.

And the player who fits Tricolor’s search is 32-year-old Portuguese defender Domingos Duarte. As reported by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, São Paulo have reached an agreement with the Portuguese player for him to become the team’s third signing in this transfer window, after Victor Sá and Newton.

A well-established center-back in European football, Duarte approached São Paulo over the weekend, apologized for his stance, and agreed to lower his initial wage demands to fit within the limit set by the board, sealing a verbal agreement valid for two seasons. Domingos Duarte came through Sporting Portugal’s youth ranks and has always shown himself to be a player with great physical strength and leadership.

During his career, he has had spells with Sporting B, Belenenses (loan), Chaves (loan), as well as Spanish clubs Granada (2019-2022) and Getafe (2022-present).

His contract ended in the middle of the year and was not renewed by Getafe, making him a free agent. As such, the player fits perfectly into São Paulo’s preferred negotiation model, with no transfer fee involved and only signing-on fees and wages to be agreed.

In the 2025/26 season, Domingos played 33 La Liga matches, with one goal and one assist, and was an undisputed starter in Getafe’s defense, which, incidentally, was one of the best in the Spanish league.

The Portuguese center-back’s main strengths are:

* Excellent in the air * Strong in physical duels * Good defensive awareness * Leadership and positioning * ⁠Height (1.92 m)

For comparison with players currently playing in Brazil, we could say the Portuguese defender has similar characteristics to Paraguayan center-back Gustavo Gómez of rivals Palmeiras. But we have to consider some negative points regarding his style of play:

* He is not a quick center-back * He picks up a lot of cards

Because of his combative profile, he often goes a bit too far. Even with these negative traits, I see the signing of the Portuguese defender as a positive one, since he fits the profile requested by coach Dorival—the classic defensive enforcer.

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