Believe it or not! Rafinha's first task: bring Arboleda back | OneFootball

Until then only the sporting manager, former right-back Rafinha officially takes over this Monday (22) as São Paulo’s new head of football, even if only temporarily, as the board searches the market for a replacement for the dismissed Rui Costa.

And even before moving forward with negotiations over departures and arrivals, one issue will be treated as a priority.

Center-back Robert Arboleda, 34, will undergo an evaluation in the coming days that could determine his return to São Paulo’s main squad. Sidelined since early April for indiscipline, the Ecuadorian defender has a meeting scheduled with coach Dorival Júnior to discuss the possibility of being reintegrated into collective activities.

Arboleda was punished with a financial fine and suspension after traveling to Ecuador without authorization from the board and failing to meet the deadline set for his return. Since then, the player had been training at alternative times, separately from the rest of the group. The club’s leadership established that the player must formally apologize to the squad before being allowed to train again with his teammates.

If it were up to Dorival and Rafinha, Arboleda would already have returned to the team. The main opponent of the idea was precisely Rui Costa, whose opinion seems to have influenced president Harry Massis.

Contract status and market strategy

Signed in 2017, during Rogério Ceni’s first spell as head coach, Arboleda is currently the longest-serving player in São Paulo’s squad. Despite the seriousness of the disciplinary offense, the board chose not to terminate the defender’s contract, which runs until the end of 2027.

The decision to keep him under contract was based on a market strategy: club officials believed that an immediate termination would make it easier for the center-back to join a direct domestic rival on a free transfer, as revealed by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR.

Although the player recently notified the club with a formal request for reinstatement, the definition of his future at Morumbi depended on political and technical factors, which are beginning to be aligned through dialogue with the coaching staff.

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