Bombshell: Arboleda offers to quit via agent, São Paulo won't listen | OneFootball

Pepe Chamurro, Arboleda’s agent, approached São Paulo on Monday morning (13) with a proposal authorized by the 34-year-old center-back, who has not shown up at the club for more than a week, to terminate his contract for good.

According to what AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, Arboleda suggested waiving the amounts he is still owed, including overdue payments, salaries, and signing bonuses through the end of his contract in 2027, in order to secure his release.

In other words, the Ecuadorian suggested an amicable “clean break”: he would leave the club without receiving a single cent of what he is still entitled to.

It sounds tempting, but the fact is that São Paulo did not even want to discuss the “proposal” with his camp. For two reasons. The first, obviously, is that the club demands Arboleda’s presence at the Barra Funda training center to discuss the matter. It will not accept handling this virtually, partly out of respect, as justified.

But obviously the matter goes beyond that. One of the points mentioned to the report by sources from São Paulo’s top brass is that the board suspects Arboleda may already have offers in hand to sign a new contract as soon as he becomes free. They even know that rivals such as Santos are keeping an eye on the player. And given the situation, they do not want to make things easier.

Although president Harry Massis Júnior has internally spoken of an immediate dismissal, the legal department is lowering the temperature and does not view a possible unilateral termination—with a penalty charge against the player or a future club—as straightforward. The legal dispute does not offer full certainty at this point. The club knows it cannot squeeze money out of the debt-ridden Arboleda. And that the matter would drag on for years. Especially when it comes to a 34-year-old player nearing retirement.

At the Barra Funda training center, the path that seems most plausible at the moment is for Arboleda to report back first, and only then for negotiations with another club over his departure to take place. Football department officials have already told the agent they want him training separately (after all, he no longer plays for Tricolor).

THE CASE

São Paulo is still awaiting an explanation from Arboleda for the absence that began on the 4th (Saturday), when the defender failed to report for the match against Cruzeiro. After a formal notice with a 24-hour deadline, the club received no immediate response and began treating the case as potential job abandonment, although it remains cautious before formalizing any definitive break.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR learned that the board was surprised by his stance, especially since it had recently settled overdue signing bonus and bonus payments.

According to what was reported to the outlet, president Harry Massis Júnior and members of the legal department are openly guaranteeing that the club “will not spend a single cent on the player’s departure.” No one is still considering the possibility of reintegrating the defender.

Arboleda left Brazil and traveled to Ecuador, where he was seen at a stadium in Guayaquil on Wednesday (8), one day after Tricolor’s Copa Sudamericana debut. Images show the defender watching a local second-division match.

Meanwhile, the club sent a new notice setting a ten-day deadline for him to report back, a period that comes before the possibility of unilateral termination.

The internal assessment is that this episode differs from previous incidents. In 2026, the defender racked up four delays, including a late return in preseason and a trip to Ecuador during Carnival, but in all cases there was some kind of communication. This time, in addition to the initial silence, there was a direct failure to comply with a match call-up, which changed the board’s stance.

On the field, Arboleda had already been losing ground, taking part in only 11 of the team’s 20 matches this season. In recent days, there was an initial move toward rapprochement. Arboleda is said to have signaled to the club, through his camp, an interest in discussing a termination in a meeting between the parties. However, if the absence is not justified, São Paulo is said to intend to terminate for cause and trigger the compensation clause.

For the domestic market, the stipulated penalty is R$ 300 million; in a possible international transfer, the amount could reach €100 million (around R$ 596 million).

The strategy includes trying to hold a future interested club liable, although experts consulted point out that this depends on proof of inducement to breach the contract.

These experts indicate that the legal outcome depends on the specific clauses of the contract.

The possibility of charging the full penalty in cases of termination for cause is not automatic, and the trend in recent FIFA decisions has been to seek financial compensation based on the remaining term of the contract and any proven damages.

The case recalls previous disputes involving players who left clubs without an agreement, but with updated understandings regarding joint liability.

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