Al Hilal deal off, São Paulo drop Marcos Leonardo pursuit | OneFootball

The drawn-out negotiations between São Paulo and Al Hilal for the transfer of Marcos Leonardo fell through on Tuesday night. The Brazilian club tried to facilitate the signing and the forward was willing, but there was no agreement between the two clubs.

Out of coach Simoni Inzaghi's plans, Marcos Leonardo was not even registered for the Saudi Championship due to the foreign player limit. Overlooked, with the dream of playing for the Brazilian National Team, he had everything aligned with São Paulo, the team he supported as a child.

With the player willing to return to Brazilian football, São Paulo continued negotiations with Al Hilal throughout Tuesday, the transfer window deadline, to try to arrange a loan agreement. The talks dragged on, but no agreement was reached.

Having failed to secure the signing of Marcos Leonardo, São Paulo announced the return of Argentine forward Emiliano Rigoni, who signed a contract until December 31, 2025, with targets set for automatic renewal until the end of 2026.

With the championships paused due to the FIFA date, São Paulo will only play again on September 14. In the 23rd round of the Brasileirão, at 5:30 PM (Brasília time), the team led by coach Hernán Crespo will face Botafogo at Morumbi Stadium.

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