Corinthians end first window with more exits than arrivals; recap | OneFootball

Last Friday (27), the Brazilian Football Confederation’s (CBF) exception transfer window, intended for players who took part in the state championships, came to an end. It had begun on March 4. The main signing period, not only for athletes who played in the regional tournaments, ran from January 5 to March 3.

During these 23 days of the exception window, Alvinegro did not make any signings. As a result, the club closed the first transfer period of the year with seven arrivals and 11 departures. According to information from Meu Timão, published in recent weeks, the club from Parque São Jorge estimates savings of R$ 1.5 million on its payroll when compared to 2025.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

At the end of last year, the budget for the 2026 season, approved by the Deliberative Council, projected a reduction of a little over R$ 6 million per month in the squad’s payroll — a drop from R$ 435 million per year to R$ 354 million. It is worth noting that all the players signed arrived either on loan or as free agents, meaning they were available on the market.

With that, Corinthians signed the following players at the start of the year: center-back Gabriel Paulista (free agent), right-back Pedro Milans (free agent), defensive midfielder Allan (loan), midfielder Matheus Pereira (loan), attacking midfielders Zakaria Labyad (free agent) and Jesse Lingard (free agent), as well as forward Kaio César (loan). The club also agreed to extend left-back Fabrizio Angileri’s contract for one more season after complications in the negotiations.

On the other hand, the following left Alvinegro: goalkeeper Matheus Donelli, center-backs Félix Torres and Cacá, right-back Fagner, left-back Diego Palacios, midfielders Ryan, Maycon and José Martínez, as well as forwards Ángel Romero, Héctor Hernández and Talles Magno. Some of them were loaned out, had their contracts terminated, or did not renew their respective deals.

It is worth noting that, among the 20 Série A teams, Corinthians was the second club to invest the least in signings. Alvinegro spent only R$ 1.8 million on the loan of midfielder Matheus Pereira, who belongs to Fortaleza. If it exercises the player’s purchase option, there could be a deduction from the amount mentioned.

In an exclusive interview with UOL, Corinthians football executive Marcelo Paz assessed the club’s transfer window: “We managed to bring in seven names under these (financial) conditions, which must be considered a success, with a lot of creativity. Players came from Uruguay, China, South Korea, Turkey, as well as clubs like Flamengo and Fortaleza. We mapped the entire market to find quality opportunities that would add to Corinthians and fill gaps at zero cost. If we compare ourselves with other clubs, our cost-benefit ratio is excellent,” he said.

Offer for André

In February, Corinthians received an offer from Milan, Italy, of 17 million euros (just over R$ 100 million) for midfielder André for the 70% of the economic rights that Alvinegro held in the Terrão academy product. Through president Osmar Stabile, Alvinegro had accepted the offer, but backed out due to the negative reaction among fans regarding the terms of the deal.

In a press conference after the team’s elimination in the Paulista Championship semifinal against Novorizontino, head coach Dorival Júnior stressed that he was also against selling the player, stating that he would certainly become even more valuable by staying at least a few more months in Brazilian football.

Failed negotiations

Corinthians came close to completing some signings, but the deals did not happen, mostly due to financial issues, as was the case with defensive midfielder Alisson (then at São Paulo and now at Fluminense), as well as forwards Kayky (Bahia), Arthur Cabral (Botafogo), and Renê Sousa (Portuguesa).

Fortaleza’s 37-year-old goalkeeper João Ricardo also had a preliminary agreement with Corinthians on a loan until the end of 2026, but he ended up failing his medical exams and returned to the northeastern club. Since the end of last year, he had been recovering from a serious right shoulder injury.

Two players not in the plans remain at the club

Center-back Renato (21), developed in Corinthians’ youth academy, and defensive midfielder Alex Santana (30), who had been training separately from the first-team squad, were unable to find new destinations in this transfer window and ended up staying at the club.

The former has a contract until July 2027 and the latter until December of the same year. The defender had been loaned to Atlético-GO in 2025, but did not find space in the Goiás club, being included in the squad only once during that period. As a result, he was sent back to Alvinegro.

The midfielder, meanwhile, had lost space at Corinthians after the arrival of coach Dorival Júnior in late April last year and, a few months later, was loaned to Grêmio. There, he made only a few appearances and did not contribute with any goals.

He has not played since October 2025, as he suffered an injury toward the end of his spell with the Rio Grande do Sul side and missed the team’s final matches of the year. As such, he reported back normally at Parque São Jorge after Grêmio did not exercise their purchase option.

Alex Santana has been at Corinthians since July 2024, when he was signed from Athletico-PR. In 37 matches for the club, he scored two goals and was part of the squad that produced the historic surge in the 2024 Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores qualifiers), as well as the team that won the state title against Palmeiras last year.

Start: January 5End: March 3

Exception window (state championships)

Start: March 4 / End: March 27

Departures:

•Matheus Donelli – loaned to Al-Shabab Ahli, United Arab Emirates•Cacá – loaned to Vitória•Félix Torres – loaned to Internacional•Fagner – contract terminated; signed permanently with Cruzeiro•Diego Palacios – loaned to Universidad Católica, Ecuador•Maycon – loan not renewed, transferred to Atlético-MG•Ryan – loaned to Fortaleza•José Martínez – contract terminated•Héctor Hernández – contract terminated – transferred to Gil Vicente, Portugal•Talles Magno – loan not renewed and returned to NYC, USA•Ángel Romero – did not renew contract and went to Boca Juniors, Argentina

Players not in the plans:•Renato (center-back) – continues training separately•Alex Santana (defensive midfielder) – continues training separately

Arrivals:

•Gabriel Paulista (center-back) – was a free agent after a spell at Beşiktaş, Turkey

•Pedro Milans (right-back) – was a free agent after not renewing with Peñarol-URU

•Allan (defensive midfielder) – loan until the end of the year with a purchase option from Flamengo

•Matheus Pereira (midfielder) – loan until the end of the year with a purchase option from Fortaleza

•Jesse Lingard (attacking midfielder) – arrives as a free agent after a spell in South Korean football

•Zakaria Labyad (attacking midfielder) – was a free agent after a spell in Chinese football

•Kaio César (forward) – loan until the end of the year with a purchase option from Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia

Women’s Football

Unlike the end of 2024 heading into 2025, when there were nine arrivals and nine departures, the Brabas squad underwent only targeted changes for the 2026 season. In total, there were five arrivals and seven departures. See below:

Corinthians Women 2026 transfer window

Start: January 19End: March 17

Arrivals:

•Agustina Barroso (center-back) – was at Flamengo•Ana Vitória (midfielder) – played for Atlético de Madrid•Paola García (midfielder) – played for Deportivo Cali-COL•Belén Aquino (forward) – belonged to Internacional•Rhaizza (forward) – played for Bahia

Departures:

•Kemelli (goalkeeper) – Fluminense•Mariza (center-back) – Tigres-MEX•Letícia Santos (right-back) – Santos•Paulinha (right-back) – Internacional•Nicole Marussi (midfielder) – loaned to Juventude•Ellen (forward) – loaned to Botafogo•Eudimilla (forward) – Santos

See More:

Corinthians News

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