Official: Troubled Sporting player off to Brazil, not manager’s choice | OneFootball

Corinthians has officially signed Zakaria Labyad. The Moroccan winger, 32, was a free agent, a circumstance that facilitated the process for the Brazilian club, which was looking to strengthen its squad. The contract is valid until the end of 2026, with an automatic renewal until 2027 upon meeting previously defined objectives.

Labyad ended his stint with Dalian Yingbo at the end of 2025 and became a free agent, a situation seen as an opportunity by the São Paulo club. The player is a well-known name in Portuguese football, having played for Sporting in the 2012/13 season, during which he scored three goals and provided two assists in 27 matches. His career began in the PSV Eindhoven youth system, where he played alongside Memphis Depay, who, interestingly, in August 2025, commented on a post by the winger on Instagram with the phrase: “Come to Brazil, brother.”

After PSV, the attacking midfielder also played for Utrecht and Ajax before moving to Chinese football. In 2024, he played 31 matches, scoring six goals and providing nine assists, and in 2025, he appeared in 25 games, scoring six times and making four assists.

At the press conference, Corinthians coach Dorival Júnior admitted he was not directly responsible for choosing the player. “Zakaria was not my request, but I am here to coach the team. The team I am given, I will work with. I don’t know much about the player, I got some information from Memphis. May he come and be able to contribute, he will be treated very well. It wasn’t my recommendation, but that’s not a problem. He will be an important player,” he stated. Asked again about the origin of the signing, he simply replied: “What I could say, I have already said.”

Remember that the player arrived at Alvalade in 2012, coming from PSV, but caused many problems for Sporting. The Moroccan was never able to establish himself, which led the green and white management to negotiate a salary reduction, as he was one of the highest-paid players in the squad. The player did not accept, and the problems began.

Labyad was even demoted to the B team and, since he did not want to lower his salary, the club tried to loan him to a team that would cover his full wages. However, the footballer refused any move, ending up with the reserve squad at Alvalade. After several loans, the Moroccan terminated his contract with Sporting in August 2016.

Check out images from Labyad’s first training session:

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