Corinthians chief revisits Memphis talks, transfer bans, Wesley return | OneFootball

Before the match between Corinthians and Remo on Thursday night (23), in the 2026 Brazilian Championship, Alvinegro’s football executive Marcelo Paz gave an exclusive interview to SporTV and was once again asked about forward Memphis Depay’s situation. The No. 10 is under contract only until the 31st and remains in talks with the club. The executive stressed both sides’ desire for a positive outcome, but reinforced the institution’s need for financial responsibility.

“Corinthians wants him to stay, and Memphis wants to stay at Corinthians. Corinthians is committed to financial responsibility. So, if he stays, it will be under a new contract model, very different from the previous one, within the reality the club can afford. This is being discussed, the matter is on the table, and I believe it can be resolved by Sunday or Monday, something along those lines. And when I say resolved, I mean yes or no.”

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

Paz went on to say that, so as not to create expectations among the fans, he prefers not to set a percentage chance of a positive or negative outcome: “I don’t want to set a percentage (of him staying) because that creates expectations among the fans, but the matter is on the table. Corinthians will stand firm in its convictions, because we are working with financial responsibility. We know that, and we are being very mindful of it. We’ll see what the outcome is. If he stays, we will certainly have a major technical gain, but within Corinthians’ reality,” he began.

Memphis Depay’s current form

Corinthians’ No. 10 is having a season below expectations. In 14 matches for Timão in 2026, he has one goal and one assist. Between the final stretch of March and the end of May, Memphis was sidelined as he recovered from a grade 2 muscle injury suffered in a match against Flamengo at Itaquera in the eighth round of the Brasileirão.

Between the injury diagnosis and the start of the World Cup, Memphis Depay played only two matches for Corinthians, one coming off the bench (Atlético-MG – Brasileirão) and the other as a starter (Platense-ARG – Conmebol Libertadores), though he was substituted by Fernando Diniz at halftime. It is worth remembering that Timão owes the player more than R$ 40 million in bonuses tied to targets set in his contract.

Memphis Depay at the World Cup

In three matches at the biggest national-team tournament in the world (all coming off the bench), he recorded one assist and 51 minutes on the field – Japan (2-2 – 20 minutes), Sweden (5-1 – 18 minutes played and one assist), and Tunisia (3-1 – 13 minutes played). In the match that resulted in the Netherlands’ elimination, the No. 10 did not even leave the bench for Ronald Koeman’s team.

Memphis Depay’s numbers at Corinthians

Signed in September 2024 after his contract was not renewed by Atlético Madrid of Spain, Memphis Depay arrived at Corinthians and was immediately crucial in the team’s surge in the previous Brazilian Championship edition (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifying stage), scoring seven goals and providing one assist in 11 matches in the national tournament.

Last season and at the start of this one, he was decisive in the title wins of the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), totaling two assists in those finals and playing an important role in the earlier knockout rounds. In a Corinthians shirt, he has 20 goals and 15 assists in 79 matches – 40 wins, 18 draws, and 21 losses – a 58.23% success rate.

Transfer bans and possible reinforcements

Later, the executive weighed in on the financial challenges Corinthians has been facing over the past few months. Currently, the club from Parque São Jorge is barred from registering new signings due to four active transfer bans – three from FIFA and one from the CNRD (National Chamber for Dispute Resolution), a CBF body – totaling just over R$ 23 million.

“It’s a challenge I knew I would face. When I came to Corinthians, I knew about the financial difficulties. We had a first transfer window at zero cost so as not to add fuel to this debt. We believe it will be resolved, the president is looking for solutions, and player sales are one of them. The international window is open, we have good assets, and we need to make some kind of sale to lift the transfer ban,” he continued.

The executive also added that this issue is being handled internally by president Osmar Stabile and the financial department, without setting a specific deadline for having the punishment lifted. In the current transfer window, which opened on the 20th and is scheduled to close on September 11, Corinthians has a target of raising R$ 180 million through sales and sees André Luiz, Breno Bidon, and Yuri Alberto as having the greatest revenue potential.

“I’m not going to set a deadline; it’s something handled more by the financial department and the president. We have a qualified squad that can deliver good results in the second half of the season. If we lose anyone, we’ll try to replace them with quality,” he said.

Finally, he was asked about talks involving Wesley, a Terrão academy product, who has been at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia since mid-2024 after being sold for 20 million euros (just over R$ 120 million at the time), precisely by Timão. Corinthians had been in talks with the player over a possible return, but the transfer ban ended up stalling the discussions.

Wesley made his first-team debut in 2022 under Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira and was permanently promoted to the senior squad in the first half of 2023 under Vanderlei Luxemburgo. Altogether, he recorded seven goals and four assists in 85 matches for the first team. Between the end of last year and the first half of 2026, he was loaned to Real Sociedad of Spain. There, he did not get many minutes and played in only five matches.

“The negotiation is not active, because we have to pay salaries, pay the transfer ban, and only then sign players. When I say it’s not active, I don’t mean it’s closed or dead. He knows of our interest, he wants to return to Corinthians, but right now there isn’t much to talk about. He is very aware of this reality, and maybe further ahead, once all this is resolved, this situation can return to the table more strongly,” he concluded.

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