Arboleda reappears… but in Ecuador's second tier, not for São Paulo yet | OneFootball

The crisis between Robert Arboleda and São Paulo took a new turn on Wednesday night (8), when the center-back was spotted attending an Ecuadorian second-division match between Atlético FC and 22 de Julio in Guayaquil. The defender has been in his home country since the end of last week, after failing to report back for the match against Cruzeiro in the Brazilian Championship, and has since remained without giving any official explanation to the club.

São Paulo’s board responded to the player’s disappearance with a formal notice, setting a ten-day deadline for him to return to Brazil. If the order is not followed, the club’s legal department is already considering terminating his contract for just cause, which could take the dispute to FIFA and lead to the charging of the termination clause, valued at R$ 300 million for the domestic market.

The internal outrage at Morumbi has been intensified by the fact that the club had recently helped Arboleda financially, paying off the player’s personal debts that exceeded R$ 600,000. Given the center-back’s dissatisfaction with being on the bench and the irreversible breakdown in his relationship with the coaching staff, the current situation indicates that the defender’s time at the club is heading toward a legal battle in the courts.

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