After Wesley cut, ex-Corinthians midfielder joins Brazil's World Cup squad | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Sunday (7), defensive midfielder Ederson, currently at Atalanta in Italy, who played for Corinthians between early 2020 and early 2021, was called up by Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to represent the Brazilian National Team at the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

The midfielder replaces right-back Wesley, developed by Flamengo and now at Roma in Italy, who was ruled out after suffering a muscle injury to the adductor muscle in his left thigh, according to a statement released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). The injury happened in the first half of Brazil’s 2-1 win over Egypt, in the last friendly before the start of the world’s biggest national team tournament.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

Ederson had not been called up by Ancelotti since May 2025, when he was with the Brazil squad for the friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay in the South American qualifiers for this year’s World Cup. In total, he has made three appearances for the Seleção and played 119 minutes. According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who specializes in international transfers, Manchester United of England have reached an agreement with Atalanta to sign the player for the 2026/2027 season.

The deal could reach 45 million euros (R$ 286.6 million at the current exchange rate). Of that total, Corinthians should be entitled to a little over R$ 2 million through FIFA’s Solidarity Mechanism, since he played for Timão between the ages of 20 and 22. As mentioned, Ederson arrived at Corinthians in March 2020 after standing out for Cruzeiro, which had been relegated to Série B the previous year.

In total, he scored three goals in 25 matches wearing the Corinthians shirt, with 10 wins, seven draws, and eight losses — a 49.33% points rate. With little space in Timão’s squad at the start of 2021, he was loaned to Fortaleza, where he became one of the team’s main standouts in that year’s Brazilian Championship. The northeastern club also qualified for the 2022 Conmebol Libertadores after finishing the national competition in the top four.

Later, in 2022, he was sold by Corinthians to Salernitana of Italy for 6.5 million euros (R$ 39 million at the exchange rate at the time), with Corinthians keeping 70% of the amount (around R$ 27 million), corresponding to the economic rights it held in the player. He spent one season there (2021/2022) before being sold to Atalanta in 2022/2023.

Check out the official statement released by the CBF:

“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that player Wesley was re-evaluated this Sunday by the Brazilian National Team’s medical staff and underwent imaging exams. The MRI confirmed a muscle injury to the adductor muscle in his left thigh. The CBF regrets the injury. Wesley is a player beloved by the group and will always be considered part of this team seeking a sixth world title. Given the diagnosis, the CBF announces the call-up of player Ederson, who will join the delegation this Monday in the United States.”

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