Santos chief backs Luca Meirelles sale: "Excellent, needed fee" | OneFootball

The sale of Luca Meirelles to Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine, generated various criticisms from Santos fans. Many wanted the young forward to have more chances in the professional team. However, in Alexandre Mattos' view, it was a great deal.

This Wednesday, the football executive explained why the board decided to accept the offer of about 12 million euros (approximately R$ 75.5 million).

"Selling youth academy players is difficult, especially at Santos. I understand the fans' complaints. Why did we sell? Because we need to, Santos needs money. Besides, it's important to respect the athlete's wishes. Santos made one of the best sales of the window. Luca is a boy with a lot of potential, who is greatly cherished," he said.

"The amount was an excellent deal. He played very little in the professional team. Everyone can leave Santos, as long as the club is respected in negotiations and financially. It was an excellent and necessary amount for Santos. I understand the fans' frustration. But we need to balance management to pursue titles. Organization, organized and committed management, that generates quality for better performance," he added.

Luca Meirelles was considered one of the last options in the offensive sector of the Santos squad. Competing for position with Deivid Washington and Tiquinho Soares, the forward still played in some games but did not score for the professional team.

In the season, Luca Meirelles played 15 games for Santos' professional team. In the under-20, the young player was one of the highlights of the Brasileirão in the category, having scored 12 goals in just ten matches.

And Chermont?

Another youth academy player who attracts the fans' interest is JP Chermont. The right-back gained several opportunities throughout the Série B in 2024 and took advantage of them well, but lost a lot of space this year.

Asked about a possible sale of the "Menino da Vila," Mattos stated that no one is non-negotiable, as long as the offer is respectful.

"Santos currently has 32 players in the squad and 34% are from the academy. The president demands this. Vojvoda expressed the desire to work with the academy as well. Regarding the players' moment, it's day-to-day, we respect who will play. We see potential in Chermont. Opportunities will arise. Each one has to seize theirs," he commented.

"Rest assured that, as it was with Luca, if a proposal comes, we will analyze it and if it's a fair value, we will proceed. If not, we won't. Sometimes we hear a lot of things and they aren't true. If someday a fair value proposal comes for any athlete, Santos will listen," he concluded.

Upcoming Santos Matches

Atlético-MG vs. Santos (23rd round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: September 14 (Sunday), at 4 PM (Brasília time) Location: Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte (MG)

Santos vs. São Paulo (24th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: September 21 (Sunday), at 8:30 PM (Brasília time) Location: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)

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