This time? Arboleda sets return date to sort issue with São Paulo | OneFootball

A possible return of Arboleda to Brazil has now been given a date: next Thursday (30).

The center-back is said to have informed São Paulo that he bought a ticket to land in Guarulhos in order to resume talks over terminating his contract, after a period of absence that began on the 4th, when he failed to report to the Barra Funda training center and went to Ecuador.

Since then, contact has been scarce, limited to the football manager Rafinha, and it has not moved toward a solution.

The club reportedly even considered terminating his contract for just cause after his disappearance, but backed off due to legal doubts, understanding that the period of absence would still be insufficient to support a dispute at FIFA.

At the same time, it adopted formal measures, such as three notices demanding his immediate return and the payment of his April salary, as a precaution.

As revealed by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, Arboleda suggested waiving the amounts he is still owed, including overdue payments, salaries, and signing bonuses through the end of his contract, in order to secure his release.

In other words, the Ecuadorian proposed an amicable exit on a “clean slate” basis: he would leave the club without receiving a single cent of what he is still entitled to.

It may sound 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 demands Arboleda’s presence at the Barra Funda training center to discuss the matter. It will not accept handling it virtually, even as a matter of respect, as justified.

But of course it goes beyond that. One of the points mentioned to the report by sources high up in São Paulo’s hierarchy is that the board suspects Arboleda may already have offers in hand to sign a new contract as soon as he becomes a free agent. It even knows that rivals such as Santos are keeping an eye on the player. And given the situation, it does not want to make things easier.

As much as president Harry Massis Júnior has spoken internally about an immediate dismissal, the legal department is lowering the temperature and does not view a possible unilateral termination — with a demand for compensation from the player or a future club — as simple. The legal dispute does not offer total certainty at this moment. The club knows it has no way of extracting money from the indebted Arboleda. And that the matter would drag on for years. This involves a 34-year-old player nearing retirement.

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

THE CASE

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

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR learned that the board was surprised by his 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 working with the possibility of reinstating 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 another notice setting a ten-day deadline for him to report back, a period that comes before the possibility of unilateral termination.

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

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

For the domestic market, the fine set is R$ 300 million; in a possible international transfer, the amount may 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 proof of inducement to breach the contract.

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

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

The case is reminiscent of 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.