Despite his absence, São Paulo still pays Arboleda to avoid legal loophole | OneFootball

Even as a way of legally protecting itself, São Paulo’s board paid Arboleda’s salary and the installments of the signing bonus he was entitled to in April as usual. The goal is to avoid loopholes that would allow the center-back not only to terminate his contract, which runs until the end of 2027, but also to end up being awarded anything in a case where he is clearly the victim.

This Thursday (16), the Morumbi club sent the 34-year-old player a third notice demanding his presence at the Barra Funda training center to discuss the situation. As happened with the previous ones, Arboleda ignored Tricolor’s attempt to contact him.

According to sources in São Paulo’s top brass who spoke to the report, the notices are also meant for legal protection. It would be a way for the club to prove that it has been trying to stay in touch with the player. It could perhaps even serve as concrete evidence once the disappearance reaches 30 days, when unilateral termination would become plausible, as lawyers working with Tricolor’s legal department said.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR reported, Arboleda suggested waiving the amounts he is still due, including overdue payments as well as salaries and signing bonuses until the end of the contract, in order to secure his release.

In other words, the Ecuadorian suggested an amicable “nil-nil” exit: he would leave the club without receiving a single cent of what he is still entitled to.

It sounds tempting, but the fact is that São Paulo did not even want to discuss the “proposal” with his camp. For two reasons. The first, obviously, is that the club is demanding Arboleda’s presence at the Barra Funda training center to discuss the matter. It does not accept handling it virtually, also as a matter of respect, as justified.

But obviously things go beyond that. One of the points mentioned to the report by sources from São Paulo’s leadership is the fact that the board suspects Arboleda may already have offers in hand to sign a new contract as soon as he becomes free. It even knows that rivals such as Santos are eyeing the player. And given the situation, it does not want to make things easier.

Even though president Harry Massis Júnior has internally spoken of an immediate dismissal, the legal department is lowering the temperature and does not see a possible unilateral termination, with a demand for compensation from the player or a future club, as a simple matter. The legal dispute does not offer full certainty at this point. The club knows it has no way of extracting money from the indebted Arboleda. And that the matter would drag on for years. This involving a 34-year-old player close to retirement.

At the Barra Funda training center, the path that seems most plausible right now is for Arboleda to report back first and only then for a negotiation with another club over his departure to be handled. Football executives have already told the agent they want him training at separate times (after all, he no longer plays for Tricolor).

THE CASE

São Paulo is still awaiting a justification from Arboleda for the absence that began on the 4th (Saturday), when the center-back failed to report for the match against Cruzeiro. After a formal notice with a 24-hour deadline, the club received no immediate response and started treating the case as a potential job abandonment, although it remains cautious before formalizing any definitive break.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR found that the board was taken by surprise by the stance, especially because it had recently settled overdue signing-bonus and bonus payments.

According to what was reported, president Harry Massis Júnior and members of the legal department are openly assuring that the club “will not spend a single cent on the player’s departure.” No one is any longer considering the possibility of reintegrating the center-back.

Arboleda left Brazil and traveled to Ecuador, where he was seen at a stadium in Guayaquil on Wednesday (8), one day after Tricolor’s debut in the Copa Sudamericana. Images show the defender watching a local second-division match.

Meanwhile, the club sent a new notice stipulating ten days for him to report back, a deadline that comes before the possibility of unilateral termination.

The internal assessment is that this episode differs from previous incidents. In 2026, the center-back racked up four delays, including a late return for preseason and a trip to Ecuador during Carnival, but in all of them there was some kind of communication. This time, besides the initial silence, there was direct noncompliance with a match call-up, which changed the board’s stance.

On the field, Arboleda had already been losing ground, featuring in only 11 of the team’s 20 matches this season. In recent days, there was an initial move toward rapprochement. Through his camp, Arboleda is said to have signaled to the club an interest in discussing a termination in a meeting between the parties. However, if the absence is not justified, São Paulo would intend to terminate for cause and trigger the compensation clause.

For the domestic market, the stipulated penalty is R$ 300 million; in a possible international transfer, the amount could reach €100 million (around R$ 596 million).

The strategy includes trying to hold a future interested club liable, although experts consulted point out that this depends on proving inducement to breach the contract.

Those experts indicate that the legal outcome depends on the specific clauses of the contract.

The possibility of charging the full penalty in cases of termination for cause is not automatic, and the trend in recent FIFA decisions has been to seek financial compensation based on the remaining term of the contract and any proven damages.

The case recalls previous disputes involving players who left clubs without an agreement, but with updated understandings regarding joint liability.

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