Why Corinthians rejected R$190m for Yuri Alberto amid money woes | OneFootball

The board of Corinthians has recently rejected a €30 million offer (R$ 190 million) from Roma for striker Yuri Alberto. Despite the severe financial crisis at Parque São Jorge, Timão did not even want to open negotiations with the Italians.

Corinthians has no intention of negotiating Yuri Alberto at this time. The club believes that, with the transfer window about to close, there would not be enough time to lift the FIFA transfer ban and find a replacement for the number 9.

The team was punished by the highest football authority due to a R$ 40 million debt with Santos Laguna, from Mexico, for the acquisition of Félix Torres. Selling Yuri could help the club settle this debt and get rid of the sanction, but Timão believes it is not worth it.

One of the reasons is that Corinthians owns only 50% of the striker’s economic rights. Thus, if the sale to Roma went through, the club would receive R$ 95 million.

Not to mention the fact that Yuri Alberto, although he has struggled with some physical issues, is the top scorer for the alvinegro team this season. He has scored 13 goals in 40 matches played this year.

Squad closed

At the moment, the Corinthians board sees the squad as closed. The club does not intend to let go of other players so as not to weaken the group led by Dorival Júnior, especially since they were unable to bring in the reinforcements requested by the coach.

Facing financial difficulties, Timão signed only striker Vitinho, who was a free agent. The board had mapped out four players and had advanced talks with two of them, including the American winger Agustín Anello, but was unable to secure the reinforcements due to the transfer ban.

In the last press conference, Dorival admitted he does not expect any more signings. “Regarding signings, I am already aware and understand that it will not happen. From there, the subject is closed. We will work to do our best, especially because I truly believe we can go further than where we are right now.”

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