Vasco sets budget to sign four loanees, decides midfielder’s exit

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·24 de março de 2026

Vasco sets budget to sign four loanees, decides midfielder’s exit

Vasco’s board has begun its financial planning to decide the future of the five players currently in the first-team squad on loan this season. According to detailed information published by ge this Tuesday (24), the coaching staff will not request a renewal for midfielder Matheus França, who belongs to Crystal Palace of England. The player arrived in Brazilian football in August last year and had major difficulties adapting, and he is expected to leave the club at the end of June (30) without the purchase option being activated.

Unlike the midfielder’s situation, the Cruz-Maltino top brass already showed great agility in the market in January (31) by resolving the issue involving forward Andrés Gómez, one of the team’s standout players this year. The management exercised the purchase clause in his contract with Rennes and paid 4.5 million euros (around R$ 30 million) to acquire 60% of the player’s economic rights on a permanent basis for the coming years.

Vídeos OneFootball

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Matheus França did not deliver on the pitch and should leave the club – Photo: Matheus Lima/Vasco

Million-dollar investments for the defensive system

The football department is now assessing the high investment needed to keep left-back Cuiabano, who belongs to Nottingham Forest and has a purchase option set at 10 million euros (R$ 61 million). That amount would secure his permanent stay on a long-term contract until December (31) of the 2030 season. Another case requiring extreme financial agility is that of center-back Robert Renan, loaned by Zenit of Russia until midyear, with the board trying to extend this initial loan until the end of 2026 to organize cash flow before needing to pay the 8 million euros (R$ 48.6 million) required for the defender’s final acquisition.

Vasco’s defense also includes center-back Carlos Cuesta, whose initial loan from Galatasaray was extended after the Rio club paid 1.5 million euros (around R$ 9.1 million) to keep him playing in the country. The defender lost his place to Alan Saldivia due to persistent pain in his right knee and has yet to play under Renato Gaúcho, but he remains highly rated internally for having been an undisputed starter under Fernando Diniz and for having earned call-ups to the Colombia national team, with his transfer fee set at around 5.75 million euros (R$ 36.6 million).

Carlos Cuesta and Andrés Gómez, important Vasco pieces – Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF

The rise of Vasco’s new number 10

In the creative sector, midfielder Johan Rojas has turned into an excellent surprise after arriving on loan from Monterrey as the team’s first signing for the current campaign. The player showed tremendous personality in his quick adaptation to the national style of play, taking on the heavy number 10 shirt right after Coutinho’s departure, which strongly motivates the board to prepare payment of the purchase option valued at US$ 3.5 million (R$ 18.3 million) so as not to lose the player.

The mapping of all these high amounts provided for in the contracts forces Vasco to carry out an in-depth study of its annual budget to ensure the retention of key pieces in the tactical setup without harming its financial health. The strategic planning aims to balance the books and ensure that the coach has a highly qualified squad on a permanent basis to sustain the competitiveness of the sporting project in the coming seasons of Brazilian football.