Massis pushes for talks: Alisson’s move to Corinthians discussed | OneFootball

On his first day as president of São Paulo after the impeachment of Julio Casares, Harry Massis Júnior signaled that he will fulfill the promise made to allies on Friday night (16): the absolute priority of his interim administration will be football.

The new tricolor president ignored contacts from allies and sycophants and spent most of his Saturday at the Barra Funda training center, first speaking with the entire squad and members of the coaching staff. He then held private talks with the team’s leading players, football executive Rui Costa, and coach Hernán Crespo.

With Costa, Massis was direct. He wants to see all of São Paulo’s negotiations for player departures unblocked. At first, there are two deals that were waiting for higher-level approval, so to speak. One of them is already settled: Rodriguinho’s move to Bragantino. As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, the Morumbi club was just waiting for the definition of Casares’ future to release the player.

The biggest concern goes by the name of Alisson. The midfielder was requested by coach Dorival Júnior at rival Corinthians. Negotiations have dragged on since the beginning of the month. Because of this, Tricolor decided to somewhat sideline the player, not listing him for matches. He was left out of the victory over São Bernardo in midweek, and again was not included for this Sunday’s (18) derby, precisely against the east zone team, in Itaquera, for the Campeonato Paulista. Crespo himself confirmed the information.

Massis was informed by Costa about the current stage of the deal. The rival insists on a player swap. The problem is that São Paulo is not interested in any of the players offered.

The tricolor’s first choice was also a midfielder, Ranielli. But Corinthians did not accept the ‘offer’. A second name was suggested by São Paulo, José Martínez. But the Venezuelan is stuck in his home country, without a passport, and has not yet reported back to Parque São Jorge. To complicate matters, his agent informed the rival that he has no interest in seeing his client at Morumbi.

While the clubs are at a standstill, Dorival acted behind the scenes. He called Alisson and, according to ‘ESPN’, convinced the number 25 to switch clubs. The reason given to São Paulo’s directors is that he’s seeking more playing time. Which is odd, since he was a starter in Tricolor’s season opener against Mirassol. And he’s only not being listed by Crespo because of the ongoing negotiations with Corinthians.

AMT found that Massis agreed with Costa’s plan to play hardball. They don’t want to strengthen a rival easily. Either Corinthians gives in and provides the player São Paulo requested, or they pay an amount that Morumbi’s side deems fair.

FUTURE AT MORUMBI

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed in December that Alisson lost his status as essential in the squad under coach Hernán Crespo.

The number 25’s staff expected a proposal from Cruzeiro. For a simple reason: his close relationship with businessman Pedro Lourenço, owner of the Minas Gerais club’s SAF. And because ‘Pedrinho BH’ had suggested Alisson’s name in the last two transfer windows.

The reason for the Minas Gerais boss’s near-obsession with the São Paulo player goes back to the past. Alisson was developed at Cruzeiro and came up through the youth ranks of the blue team when Lourenço was providing financial support and had an informal role in the lower divisions.

In short, Alisson is a kind of ‘protégé’ of Pedrinho BH. To the point that the businessman helped him at the end of 2022, when the player was sidelined at São Paulo due to psychological issues.

All this closeness, of course, means that Alisson’s name is constantly being considered at his old club.

A natural right winger, Alisson has played as a midfielder for Tricolor since 2023, when he was repurposed by Dorival Júnior during the Copa do Brasil title run. It was a comeback for the player, who had been criticized until then and had personal problems.

His good form even led to speculation about a call-up to the national team, as we mentioned above, but the arrival of Hernán Crespo and the switch to a three-center-back formation saw him lose space within São Paulo itself, overshadowed by Marcos Antônio and Bobadilla and becoming a substitute.

Alisson has a good relationship with Dorival. It was under the coach, during the historic Copa do Brasil title campaign, that the much-questioned forward was moved back to midfield and enjoyed a period of idol status among Tricolor fans. Our former manager even pre-called the number 25 for the Brazilian National Team (believe it or not).

Therefore, it’s only natural that his name is being mentioned in the east zone now that Dorival has moved there.

Even on a downward trend, the number 25 finished last year as the fourth most-used player of the season. He played 54 matches, 14 of them coming off the bench. Only in two matches in which he was listed did he not take the field. He scored just one goal all year.

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