Corinthians midfielder plays down leader tag, says European stint accelerated his maturity | OneFootball

Corinthians' 2026 rebuild has seen Talles Magno, Ángel Romero, Fagner and Maycon depart, and Matheus Pereira drafted in to plug Maycon’s gap after his move to Atlético-MG under Dorival Júnior. The midfielder played down any leader label, saying time abroad matured him and he is ready to help younger team-mates in a dressing room with strong voices.

A youth product integrated at 17, he was on Tite’s 2015 pre-season tour and part of that year’s title-winning squad. In 2016 he moved to Juventus for 2.5 million euros, about R$ 9.3 million. ge.globo reported that Corinthians kept only 5 percent of his rights, with 95 percent assigned to agent Fernando Garcia to offset debts.

He had earlier reached the Copinha final in 2016, then saw his opportunities diminish after a chipped penalty struck the bar in the shootout defeat to Flamengo. He left with three senior appearances. Pereira says he will support younger players and pointed to André Ramalho, Gustavo Henrique and Hugo Souza as established leaders.

His career has since taken in Juventus, Empoli, Bordeaux II, Paraná, Juventus B, Dijon, Barcelona B and Eibar, before returning to Brazil with Fortaleza in 2025. Now 27, he joins Corinthians on loan to December with an option to buy, a deal worth R$ 1.8 million in 10 instalments.

He is the club’s second signing after Gabriel Paulista, with moves for forward Kaio César from Al Hilal and right-back Pedro Milans being finalised. After his re-debut in Sunday’s Majestoso, he is available for Thursday’s trip to Santos at Vila Belmiro at 19:30 in the fourth round of the Paulista.

Source: Meu Timao