Corinthians v Cruzeiro: two players could come back to haunt their old club

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Central do Timão

·24 Februari 2026

Corinthians v Cruzeiro: two players could come back to haunt their old club

By Henrique Vigliotti/Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians and Cruzeiro face off on the night of Wednesday (25th), at 8:00 PM (Brasília time), at Mineirão, in a match valid for the fourth round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. The clash, at the Gigante da Pampulha, could be marked by the always talked about “Law of the Ex” for both sides.

On Cruzeiro’s side, two players had remarkable spells at Timão. One of them is right-back Fagner, who was loaned to the celestial club in January 2025 and, already in the 2026 season, officially terminated his contract before renewing for another year with the Minas Gerais team. For Corinthians, the full-back played 578 matches, becoming the seventh player to wear the black-and-white shirt the most, and won five titles: three Campeonato Paulista (2017, 2018, and 2019) and two Campeonato Brasileiro (2015 and 2017).

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

In addition to Fagner, the Minas Gerais team has two other familiar faces for Corinthians fans: goalkeeper and idol Cássio Ramos and coach Adenor Leonardo Bachi, known as Tite. At the helm of the Alvinegro, Tite built one of the most successful trajectories in the club’s history, with achievements such as the Libertadores, the Club World Cup, the Campeonato Paulista, and two Campeonato Brasileiro titles.

On the Corinthians side, the only possibility of applying the Law of the Ex falls to left-back Matheus Bidu. The player joined the club at the beginning of the 2024 season, on loan from Guarani, and was permanently signed in 2025 after fulfilling contractual goals. It’s worth remembering that Bidu scored Corinthians’ goal in the last meeting between the teams, in December of last year. Despite Cruzeiro’s 2-1 victory at Neo Química Arena, in the semifinal of the Copa do Brasil, Timão secured qualification on penalties and went on to win the title, later conquered against Vasco.

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