Luca Meirelles leaves Santos for Shakhtar: “See you soon” | OneFootball

Having agreed to a deal with Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine, striker Luca Meirelles bid farewell to Santos this Thursday. On his Instagram profile, the 18-year-old player posted a farewell message thanking Santos.

"Today I say goodbye to the club that shaped me not only as an athlete, but as a man. I arrived as a boy full of dreams, and I leave more mature, grateful for everything I experienced wearing this shirt," wrote the striker.

Having come up through the club's youth ranks, Luca Meirelles also expressed his desire to return to the Black and White in the future and that he will forever be a Boy from Vila.

"Santos will always be my home. May this be just a see you later, and may I one day return to give back a little of everything this club has done for me," he said.

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Heading to Ukraine and limited opportunities at Santos

The athlete is already on his way to the European country to undergo medical examinations and sign a contract with Shakhtar. Santos has arranged the sale of the player for about 12 million euros (approximately R$ 75.5 million at the current exchange rate).

Luca Meirelles was considered one of the last options in the offensive sector of the squad. Competing with names like Deivid Washington, Tiquinho Soares and Guilherme, the striker still played in some games, but did not score for the professional team.

This season, Luca Meirelles played 15 games for Santos' professional team. In the U-20, the young player was one of the highlights of the category's Brasileirão, having scored 12 goals in just ten matches.

See the full text from Luca Meirelles:

"Today I say goodbye to the club that shaped me not only as an athlete, but as a man. I arrived as a boy full of dreams, and I leave more mature, grateful for everything I experienced wearing this shirt.

It's been 8 years of learning, and here I fulfilled my biggest dream: to become a professional player!

I thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who was part of this journey: technical commissions, staff, employees and, mainly, the fans who never stopped supporting.

Santos will always be my home. May this be just a see you later, and may I one day return to give back a little of everything this club has done for me. Thank you, Santos! Boy from Vila forever!"

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