Cuca urges calm over Santos image rights delays after Cuenca defeat | OneFootball

After defeat to Deportivo Cuenca in Ecuador, Cuca addressed delays in Santos’ image rights payments, urging caution and noting that regularisation has begun.

According to Diario Do Peixe, the club on Tuesday afternoon paid March wages and cleared one overdue image rights instalment after a meeting in Cuenca between players and the board.

One image rights instalment remains outstanding. If no further payments arrive by 20 April, the club would again be two months late on that commitment.

Cuca asked for balance, saying a transfer ban linked to defender Basso forced a payment to operate in the window, which he suggested might otherwise have gone to image rights. He accepted the situation is not ideal but said it should not dominate daily work, calling for trust in the directors and president.

Squad leaders sought clarity on the plan to clear arrears as frustration built internally. The payment avoided the prospect of three months outstanding.

Finances remain tight. Cash flow is constrained until mid-year with no immediate revenue forecast, and the board do not rule out selling an academy player to balance the books, as with full-back Souza’s move to Tottenham. The latest accounts show debt near R$ one billion, much of it short term.

Source: Diario Do Peixe