Midfielder returns to Corinthians at Majestoso after ten seasons

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Central do Timão

·18 de enero de 2026

Midfielder returns to Corinthians at Majestoso after ten seasons

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the afternoon of this Sunday (18th), Corinthians hosted São Paulo at the Neo Química Arena, for the third round of the first phase of the 2026 Paulista Championship, and ended up drawing 1-1. The Corinthians goal was scored by midfielder Breno Bidon, at 44 minutes of the final stage after a pass from forward Pedro Raul. The result left the Alvinegro in seventh place with four points – only the top eight advance to the knockout stage.

The draw in the Majestic also marked the re-debut of midfielder Matheus Pereira with the Corinthians jersey after ten years since his departure. The number 23 started the match on the bench and was brought on by coach Dorival Júnior at 20 minutes of the second half, replacing midfielder André Carrillo, who was underperforming.

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Photo: Vinicios Cotrim/Central do Timão

According to Sofascore, a sports statistics app, Matheus Pereira accumulated the following numbers during his time on the field: one key pass, 21/26 accurate passes (81%), 2/3 accurate long passes (67%), and 30 actions with the ball. The midfielder participated in the Corinthians equalizing goal, when he set up Breno Bidon at the edge of the area, leading to the ball reaching Pedro Raul, who set up the play for number 7 to strike hard at Rafael.

Matheus Pereira joined Corinthians in 2011 to play in the youth categories and made his debut for the main team in 2015, when the Corinthians team was managed by Tite. That year, he played in a friendly match against ABC, from Natal, as well as games against Cruzeiro and Santos, for the Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil of that year. In 2016, he was the main player of Timãozinho in the runner-up campaign of the Copa São Paulo, where he played as number 10.

After not finding space in the professional squad, he was sold to Empoli, Italy, in 2016. Since then, he has played for Juventus, Bordeaux II, Paraná, Juventus, Dijon, Barcelona B, and Eibar, until joining Fortaleza in mid-2025. At the northeastern team, he was one of the main highlights in the second semester, almost helping the team stay in the first division. For Leão, he scored two goals and provided three assists in 20 games.

At the Parque São Jorge club, he will compete for a position with: Raniele, José Martínez, Charles, André Carrillo, Luiz Gustavo Bahia, and Breno Bidon. The player arrives to replace Maycon, who did not have his loan renewed and transferred to Atlético-MG. Matheus Pereira and the rest of the Corinthians squad will now prepare for the next match in the Paulistão.

Next Thursday (22nd), at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), the Alvinegro will visit Santos at Vila Belmiro for the fourth round of the state championship's first phase.

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