Marcos Leonardo may quit Al Hilal, São Paulo keep door open | OneFootball

Forward scores goal in the last Club World Cup (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

RAFAEL EMILIANO@rafaelemilianoo

The refusal to release Marcos Leonardo on loan to São Paulo until the end of the year could spark a true legal battle between the forward and Al Hilal, the club with whom he is under contract until June 2029.

>> THE 2ND MOST PROFITABLE: Even without major sales, São Paulo is one of those who made the most money in the transfer window

>> Tickets for São Paulo vs LDU: get your wallet ready! See when sales start and prices for the Libertadores match>> VENUE, MONEY: São Paulo will host The Weeknd festival with Anitta performing at Morumbi on two dates in 2026

>> BACKSTAGE: FRUSTRATION WITH MARCOS LEONARDO OPENS ‘WITCH HUNT’ AT SÃO PAULO LOOKING FOR A LEAK

The claim is that by not registering him to play in the Saudi League, Al Hilal is preventing him from practicing his profession.

This is the final move of Marcos Leonardo’s dissatisfaction with the club, which began with his disagreements with the new coach, Italian Simone Inzaghi, and continued with the approach from São Paulo, where he accepted to earn much less than he currently does.

The negotiation itself with Tricolor will be used as justification by Marcos Leonardo’s lawyers in the lawsuit that should be filed in the coming days (or months).

On the other hand, Al Hilal has already taken precautions regarding this possibility. As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR previously reported, the club claims it pays Marcos Leonardo’s salary on time, and also justifies that he is registered to play in the Asian Champions League. Besides that, they claim they accepted a loan offer from Al Shabab, another club in the same country, which was refused by the forward. In other words, in practice, they are not preventing him from playing professional football.

The legal argument from the player’s staff is based on FIFA regulations that guarantee if a foreign player is not registered in the local league, he can take the club to court to terminate his contract with just cause, claiming he is being prevented from performing his main function as a professional athlete.

Furthermore, the lawyers argue that Al Hilal acted irresponsibly by signing more foreign players than permitted.

It’s worth remembering that this was the same justification used by Neymar to terminate his contract and sign with Santos at the beginning of the year.

Well, on São Paulo’s side, there is a quiet hope that the 22-year-old forward will be able to secure his release from Al Hilal. Tricolor is convinced that the proposal to play for his childhood club moved Marcos Leonardo, who was touched by the fans’ words of affection. And it is in this context, as a free agent, that Tricolor dreams of having the player for the next season.

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