Rafael Pontelo a headache, Sporting don’t want Brazilian playing | OneFootball

Exclusively from Leonino - Rafael Pontelo continues to be a problem for Sporting, who intend to find an adequate solution for the player

Rafael Pontelo continues to be a headache for Sporting. Despite not being part of Rui Borges' plans for 2025/26, the player is also unlikely to play for the club's B team, according to Leonino. In this exclusive, our newspaper tells you how the green and white club's management is handling the situation.

According to a source close to the process, the Alvalade club does not intend to risk using the Brazilian in their secondary formation - this is because, if he plays an official game, the defender can only represent one more team in this season. Since the goal is for the player to leave, this does not make sense and may jeopardize potential deals - whether on loan or a permanent sale.

The truth is that, so far, in two games played by the Sporting in the national second division, Pontelo has not been used in either of them - Torreense and Leiria. The club's management is currently evaluating the possibilities for the Brazilian's future, however, the situation is complicated, since there is no team interested in having him and taking the player off the green and white team's payroll.

It's worth remembering that the Brazilian was a national champion while playing for the Alvalade club. When he arrived at the club in January 2024, the former Leixões player only played one minute in the Liga Portugal, and was thus part of the second championship won by Ruben Amorim at the club.

In 2024/25, Rafael Pontelo - valued at 300,000 euros - only played eight games for Pafos, having played just 406 minutes, which were enough to win the Cypriot championship. In January, the Brazilian moved to Auda, from Latvia, playing 1,322 minutes in 15 games.

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