Corinthians boss speaks out, voices opposition to possible André sale

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Central do Timão

·01 de março de 2026

Corinthians boss speaks out, voices opposition to possible André sale

By Henrique Vigliotti and Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians said goodbye to the Paulista Championship on Saturday night (28th). Playing at Estádio Doutor Jorge Ismael de Biasi, the team was defeated by Novorizontino 1-0 and was eliminated in the semifinal. After the loss, coach Dorival Júnior, visibly irritated, made a statement about the possibility of selling midfielder André to Milan, Italy.

The coach brought up the topic by stating that Corinthians needs to decide whether technical or financial return will be the priority this season. The manager made his opposition to the deal clear and pointed out that the midfielder could be worth much more than the amount of around 17 million euros (approximately R$103 million), reported this Saturday.

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Photo: Henrique Vigliotti/Central do Timão

“We have to define ourselves as a team, what we want. I gave my opinion to the president. He has known it for a long time […] Corinthians has to signal to the market that it will sell when it wants, at the right moment. A player of this level, with only eight or nine matches played wearing the Corinthians shirt, being valued at this amount means he is worth much more in the market. Corinthians has to establish itself as a team,” he began.

“I want to improve this team even more, which is already good and can give us an answer. We have to see what kind of return we want: technical, results, or financial. If it’s financial, I’m not part of that kind of process. I want to be here to do the best for Corinthians, aiming for every possible final in all competitions,” he continued.

Dorival Júnior continued his strong statement, pointing out that Corinthians will hardly be able to replace a possible departure of André with a player of the same characteristics, given the financial difficulties and the little time left in the transfer window.

“That’s exactly it, you sell, with three days left to sign someone. Who do you sign? Let’s see. Or do you think we’ll find another André inside Terrão at this moment? No, we don’t have one. Let’s not fall for this story that someone will show up soon. It’s not like that. It’s not all the time. This boy was coming back, no one knew who he was. He was coming back with ten days of training, after a very serious injury, I saw him playing and realized he had qualities and potential. We prepared him for almost three months before debuting him. When we launched the boy, everyone started to notice who this kid was,” he said.

“What I think: he needs to stay here to mature and grow, to give a technical return to Corinthians. After the technical return, then yes, it will provide a financial return. But first, like every athlete, he has to go through this process, to mature, so he doesn’t go to Europe and come back. That’s what we have to think about. We have to take care of these boys, in this way. Corinthians will sell when it wants to sell, and not for just any offer that comes up. That’s just my opinion. Now, everyone does what they think is best. I go up to the technical moment. After that, it’s just an opinion,” the coach concluded.

The total amount of the negotiation between Corinthians and Milan for André is around 25 million euros (about R$151 million currently), but the Paulista club would receive about 17 million euros as it owns only 70% of the midfielder’s economic rights.

In a statement after the match against Novorizontino, the club’s Executive of Football, Marcelo Paz, confirmed the amounts involved and revealed that Timão would still be entitled to 20% of the capital gain, that is, 20% of the profit obtained by the Italian team in a possible future sale of the player. However, the director stated that the deal is not sealed and depends on the approval of president Osmar Stabile.

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