Alisson must win back São Paulo fans, says club official | OneFootball

Midfielder Alisson continues to train normally with his São Paulo teammates at the training center, after a failed and poorly handled negotiation between the parties and Corinthians.

Undeniably, the midfielder, who was once a fan favorite, has lost a lot of support from the vast majority of São Paulo fans. He even went to the rival’s training center to ‘get to know the place’ when his move to the Itaquera club was practically sealed. That is, until they backed out and Alisson had to return to Tricolor.

The person who revealed more details about the situation was the club’s executive football director, Rui Costa, in an interview with UOL this Thursday (19th). The director revealed that Alisson never asked to switch clubs and leave Tricolor.

“Alisson never came into my office, nor the president’s office, to say ‘I want to leave São Paulo and go to Corinthians’. Alisson, because of a relationship he built with Corinthians’ coach, Dorival, since he was a champion at São Paulo with Dorival, because he has almost 150 games wearing the São Paulo shirt, because he played with a broken ankle, with a broken rib, all of this needs to be said.”

“Alisson, facing a scenario of having only one year left on his contract, already being 32 years old, the possibility arises, they say he didn’t have much space, because today São Paulo’s midfield is the reality we see, very qualified players, with a different profile from his, this possibility to go to Corinthians comes up, who express their intention to sign him,” Rui Costa began.

“And Corinthians and São Paulo sit at the table, São Paulo well aware of what this means, I’m not an idiot. We built a negotiation process that would shield the athlete and allow him to carry out his professional activity at a club. And for reasons I’m not going to comment on here, Corinthians backed out of the negotiation.”

“When Corinthians back out of the negotiation, it creates a new scenario, which is up to us to handle. Will Alisson have to win back the São Paulo fans? No doubt about it. But Alisson is integrated, training, making an effort, he’s already improved his physical numbers, had a conversation with Crespo. Crespo sought him out to say, I’m counting on you, I need to create a reintegration process for you, sporting, but also human,” explained the Tricolor director.

AND THERE WERE MORE INQUIRIES

Rui Costa also confirmed that other teams approached São Paulo to inquire about Alisson’s situation for a possible signing, but the talks did not progress.

“And obviously this is a difficult subject, there were inquiries from other clubs, we reached a point where we thought it would be better for him to play elsewhere, but these negotiations are not that simple, because São Paulo will only negotiate Alisson within its own parameters. I’m not going to give Alisson away for free to another club, just because some think he can’t play for São Paulo anymore.”

“Alisson faced perhaps the greatest hell anyone can face in their life (depression). And he overcame it with dignity, with courage, with the support of São Paulo, with the support of the fans. In fact, this athlete came into my office—yes, he did come into my office—and said he didn’t want to receive any salary while he wasn’t working.”

“So Alisson didn’t go to Corinthians because Corinthians decided not to sign him anymore. From then on, he’s a São Paulo player. And São Paulo has the duty to understand how this process needs to be rebuilt. We have a short squad, so he’s an important player. And that’s how he’ll be treated. At this moment, São Paulo is not releasing him for negotiations,” Costa stated.

The player’s future now depends only on himself in training. Rui Costa explained that Crespo opened this opportunity for Alisson to work and win back his place in the São Paulo squad.

“The same Crespo who now, after everything that happened, which wasn’t even caused by him, had the generosity, the professionalism to say, I’m counting on you here, let’s create a path so you can win back your place here and with the fans. Because Crespo, Rafinha, me, the president, we all know how much this impacts the fans,” he concluded.

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