More than just Kaio Jorge: 14 other talents let go by São Paulo’s academy | OneFootball

Top scorer of the current Brazilian Championship with 15 goals, Kaio Jorge from Cruzeiro caught the attention of São Paulo fans by revealing that he was dismissed from Cotia on the grounds that he was too frail.

But did you know he wasn't the only one?

From the 1960s onwards, it became common for São Paulo to be approached by agents and parents due to the club's reputation for being a good talent developer at Morumbi.

And, of course, not everyone who later became famous or a world-class star ended up being approved in the trials or daily training sessions.

Join AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR as we bring you a list of players who either tried out for São Paulo and were rejected or actually went through the youth categories.

1 – ENDRICK

The former Palmeiras player became one of the most famous cases of dismissals from Cotia. In 2016, when he hadn't even turned 12, he spent a few months in the Tricolor's youth system but ended up packing his bags after the club refused to provide financial assistance and housing and employment for the attacker's family, who is now at Real Madrid. The Julio Casares administration promised to investigate the reasons for losing Endrick, but the case was shelved by the Board of Directors last year.

2 – DIEGO RIBAS

Few people remember this. In 1999, the father of the now TV commentator fulfilled the boy's dream of taking him to São Paulo, the club he supported, for trials. He was initially approved, but at the beginning of 2000, when he was 14, he was dismissed. He was welcomed by rival Santos, and the rest is history.

3 – HULK

Currently an idol at Atlético-MG, Hulk was another name who passed through São Paulo's youth system. In 2001, he was accepted after trials and spent the entire following year in the Morumbi youth categories, from where he was transferred to Vitória in 2003, with whom Tricolor had a partnership.

4 – ROBERTO FIRMINO

Unknown until recently, Firmino gained notoriety after playing in German football and eventually joining the Brazilian National Team. It was enough for his past to be researched, and it was discovered that he had a stint in Cotia in 2008. When he was 17, he passed a Tricolor trial but stayed less than six months in the São Paulo youth system and was dismissed, soon ending up at Figueirense.

5 – DAVID LUIZ

The defender, now at Pafos in Cyprus, is another who passed through São Paulo. He joined the Tricolor youth system in 1999 at the age of 12 and stayed until 2001, being one of the first in the batch ceded to Vitória due to the partnership between the clubs established that year.

6 – VÁGNER LOVE

Now more remembered as a former Corinthians player, the striker was taken to São Paulo by an agent. He trained for a few months at Morumbi between 2000 and 2001 until, according to the club, he was informed that compensation would have to be paid to Vasco, where Love had a federative link (this was before the Pelé Law). As a result, he was dismissed and crossed the fence, ending up at Palmeiras, where he turned professional. The episode cost the former midfielder Pita, an idol of the 1980s, his job as youth coordinator.

7 – EDERSON

The goalkeeper, now at Turkish Fenerbahçe, arrived in Cotia at the beginning of 2008 and stayed for just over a year. At 15, in May 2009, he was dismissed by phone shortly after recovering from an injury. The episode traumatized the player, who decided to accept an agent's offer to continue his development at Benfica in Portugal, far from Brazil.

8 – GABIGOL

Another case that caused some controversy when it was discovered, when the player stood out in the professional ranks of rival Santos. Gabriel Barbosa was a student at a São Paulo soccer school. Between the ages of 7 and 10, he was part of student teams that represented the club in futsal base competitions. When it was time to go to Cotia, however, there was no agreement with the player's family. Like Endrick, São Paulo refused to provide financial assistance for the family's daily commute from São Bernardo do Campo (SP), where he lived, to the city where the Tricolor base is located. The coastal team, which was already monitoring him, agreed and ended up taking him to Vila Belmiro.

9 – ZÉ ROBERTO

Owner of one of the longest careers in Brazilian football, with more than 21 years as a professional, the left-back and attacking midfielder was one of the biggest highlights of Pequeninos do Jóquei, a club in the southern zone of São Paulo, near Morumbi, specializing in player development. In 1991, he was invited to try out for São Paulo. Approved, he trained for a few months, but when it came time to finalize the contract, Portuguesa offered a higher salary and took the player.

10 – ENÉAS AND DENER

Since we mentioned Lusa, it's only fair to recall a curiosity that few São Paulo fans know. Two of the greatest idols in Lusitanian history almost became Tricolor players.

Enéas, the greatest player in the history of the Canindé club, played futsal at Banespa in the 1960s, still a child, alongside a current São Paulo idol, Muricy Ramalho, who recommended him to his favorite team. For a few months, he trained at the club, but as a resident of Pari (central São Paulo region), he soon became discouraged by having to cross the city to go to Morumbi every day and preferred to accept the invitation to train at Portuguesa, a neighbor to his home.

Dener was already part of the Lusitanian base when, in 1987, after it was discovered that he was not federated (remember, the transfer system still existed), he accepted an offer to start training at Tricolor. The case almost turned into a behind-the-scenes legal battle with the participation of Corinthians, also interested in having the player. But then Tricolor president Juvenal Juvêncio gave up on the verbal agreement with the player to avoid angering Portuguesa.

11 – DU QUEIROZ

Yes, we know, it's tough to talk about Du Queiroz after talking about Dener. But the fact is that the midfielder is another who spent a good part of his development in the São Paulo youth system, more precisely from 2009 to 2013, when he was dismissed due to the club's issues with his agent. He ended up at Corinthians, where he turned professional, and is currently at Grêmio.

12 – EMERSON ROYAL

Now at Flamengo, the right-back did much of his development in Cotia, where he stayed from the age of 9 to 15. Dismissed, he ended up at Ponte Preta. Throughout almost the entire transfer window, he was a source of good news for the club regarding receiving solidarity mechanism fees from transfers.

13 – HENRIKH MKHITARYAN

The most surreal case on this list. The Armenian arrived at the club's base in 2003, following an agreement between São Paulo and his country's government. He stayed until early 2004, but we confess, we're cheating, as the now European idol, with stints at major clubs on the Old Continent, already knew his stay at Tricolor would be temporary, with no chance of staying, as Armenian legislation at the time prohibited the departure of underage athletes with ties (and he was linked to the local football federation).

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