Unreachable in Ecuador: Arboleda blocked in Brazil, eyed abroad | OneFootball

Where’s Arboleda? No one knows, no one has seen him. Even after a 4-1 thrashing of Cruzeiro, São Paulo has another controversy to deal with — and one of the trickiest ones yet.

After going missing and being dropped by coach Roger Machado from Saturday’s (4) Brasileirão match, center-back Arboleda remains unreachable in Ecuador, his home country, this Easter Sunday (5), the same day Tricolor had already returned to training at CT da Barra Funda, without the presence of the “fugitive” player.

The big question for São Paulo fans is: what action will the club take against the player? Well, first it needs to manage to speak with Arboleda to understand the situation and assess what will be done. Not even the Ecuadorian’s agents have been able to contact him to discuss his future.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned that the club’s internal promise is to make him an example of how indiscipline will not be tolerated. He will be fined and, most likely, will not play for São Paulo again. The squad’s leaders were informed of the initial decision in the Morumbi dressing room right after the match against Cruzeiro. The amount of the fine will be discussed with president Harry Massis Júnior.

DOMESTIC INTEREST

It is no secret that some Brazilian clubs have been interested in Arboleda for some time. The main one is Grêmio, which has already had bids for the defender rejected in previous transfer windows. Other clubs in the country that would like to sign the center-back are Athletico-PR and Internacional.

There is a problem, however. The transfer window is closed in Brazil and it will take a while before it reopens. The domestic market will only open again on July 20, which prevents negotiations within the country for now.

And Tricolor’s position is very clear: it will only agree to let Arboleda join another Brazilian club in exchange for good financial compensation or a favorable swap deal. Despite his recurring problems at São Paulo, the Ecuadorian is still seen as an asset that could generate some profit for the club’s coffers.

FOREIGN CLUBS ALSO WATCHING

Countries whose transfer windows are still open could be destinations for the controversial defender, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, where some clubs have already inquired about Arboleda’s situation in recent times. They could be an immediate solution for the defender’s departure from Tricolor.

MLS teams in the United States and clubs in Ecuador itself are also emerging as possible candidates. In his home country, rumors are beginning to circulate that giant club LDU is interested and monitoring Arboleda’s situation.

However, everything is still very unclear, including for São Paulo, which has been unable to speak with its player, who is still under contract until the end of 2027, when he would have completed ten years at the club.

The fact is that Arboleda really no longer wants to play for São Paulo after a major internal falling-out. AMT learned in the early hours of this Sunday (5) that the trigger for the internal crisis involving Arboleda was a reprimand from Rui Costa and Rafinha to the center-back after Friday’s (3) training session over social media posts complaining about not being used regularly by coach Roger Machado.

The report was able to capture a screenshot of one of those messages (see below), but according to accounts from São Paulo directors, there were at least three others, deleted by the player, as well as comments backing criticism of the coach made by fans in the replies.

One of Arboleda’s controversial posts

Arboleda was called in for a private conversation after training at CT da Barra Funda and was told to stop it. Roger did not take part in the meeting, nor did he bring the matter to the board. “To be honest, he didn’t even know. They preferred to handle it without involving him,” a source told AMT.

The Ecuadorian’s reaction to the dressing-down could not have been worse. Arboleda cleared out the locker in his room at the CT training camp and has been unreachable ever since. Messages came through his entourage. To journalists, the player’s representatives leaked the information that he wanted to be transferred because he was not being used regularly by the coach.

That was still on Friday. This Saturday (4), after failing to show up with the squad for lunch and to begin preparations for the match against Cruzeiro at the CT, the player’s relatives and friends did not answer even other club players. Only hours before the game did one of his agents say that Arboleda was in Ecuador and no longer wanted to play for São Paulo. Club officials interviewed by the report doubt he could have traveled in such a short time. Resigned, the coach left him out of the matchday squad.

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