Marlon Freitas leaves Botafogo, snubs São Paulo for rival move | OneFootball

If São Paulo still had any hope of signing midfielder Marlon Freitas from Botafogo, it was practically extinguished this Friday (26).

The Tricolor had been in talks with some Botafogo players, in the early stages of a negotiation that could have involved several players. Marlon was one of them. He even liked an initial offer from the Morumbi club, but Palmeiras’ money seems set to speak louder in the end.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR confirmed that Marlon Freitas has reached an agreement with Botafogo to leave, but to accept the good offer from Palmeiras and leave São Paulo empty-handed.

According to information from Globo Esporte, the rival will pay about US$6 million (R$33.2 million at the current exchange rate) to Botafogo to sign the 30-year-old player.

The AMT report had already revealed that the negotiation between São Paulo and Marlon was difficult to finalize. From the beginning of talks, Botafogo played hardball, as they intended to renew with their captain. But now, they are expected to accept the offer from Palmeiras.

The ‘player swap’ with Botafogo

As we’ve already mentioned, Ferraresi is indeed on his way to General Severiano. São Paulo had already accepted Botafogo’s offer and the player is set to make the move. This, however, is the only deal finalized so far.

Initially, Botafogo inquired about a third São Paulo player. After being turned down for Ferreirinha, they considered midfielder Rodriguinho. São Paulo was fine with it, but the young player’s representatives, who came up through Cotia, were not pleased. They prefer to keep him at Morumbi—at least until a European offer arrives (and there have been inquiries).

Now, the Rio club considers it certain that only two players will be swapped with the Tricolor. They are also trying to please the agents of Pablo Maia. But now they face strong competition from Cruzeiro, who could swoop in with a better offer for the Made in Cotia talent.

The difficulty lies on São Paulo’s side in attracting players from the black-and-white team. AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has already revealed that, of the three names initially considered by São Paulo, two—the winger Savarino and midfielder Marlon Freitas—were initially rejected.

Midfielder Savarino, if he has to leave the Rio club, wants to go to Atlético-MG, a club he has played for before and where Jorge Sampaoli, whom he considers a friend, currently works.

The most desired name for the Tricolor, however, is right-back Vitinho. Executive Rui Costa, however, was told by the player’s agents that he wants to wait until the end of his vacation to decide his future. In other words, he wants to wait until January. They believe this is a strategy, as his representatives are waiting for inquiries from Europe.

To complicate matters further, a name suggested by Botafogo—the forward Joaquín Correa—sparked interest and Costa opened talks with his representatives. But he was told that, at this moment, the Argentine has no interest in playing in the São Paulo capital. A new meeting has been scheduled for the future with the player’s agents to try to advance the deal and finally unlock the swap.

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