São Paulo president says he will not enter into an auction for a midfielder and gives details about James

After coach Luis Zubeldía publicly requested reinforcements, São Paulo president São Paulo Casares spoke about two important points in the tricolor market. The first is the negotiation with midfielder Thiago Mendes , from Al-Rayyan, Qatar, which is at a standstill.

The second is the James Rodríguez soap opera , who is expecting to be traded to ease the Tricolor’s financial burden.

In the case of Thiago Mendes, the club has been in negotiations with the player since last month and has already received public support from Zubeldía for the deal. The agreement, however, is not simple because it involves financial compensation to Al-Rayyan, who has a contract with the 32-year-old midfielder until June next year.

“One important thing is that Thiago is a guy who wants to come to São Paulo, and so does his family. We want Thiago, but we can’t do anything too much over budget. We can do a little over budget. He’s a great player, it’s a big dream that he comes back,” said Casares, in an interview with ESPN.

“But if that is not possible, we will work with plans A, B and C within Thiago’s position. We hope he can come, but we will not enter into an auction, we will not compromise our financial situation, which is poor. São Paulo is still undergoing a reconstruction process,” he added.

James Rodriguez’s situation

In the case of James, elected the best player in the Copa América , the president of São Paulo revealed that the club managed to renegotiate a debt with the player regarding the payment of bonuses for his signing last season.

Casares is now waiting for offers for the 32-year-old player and sees a possible transfer as a way to reduce the payroll in order to invest in new players, as well as paying off the outstanding debt.

“He had gloves. Gloves theoretically mean the following: the player came, he is not able to play, I will divide this into an agreement. And we are paying on time. But, if a proposal comes that includes this payment that we still owe him and includes any other expenses that we will have in the future with the player, we can talk. Everything is balanced out”, he declared.

“I will stop spending, I can spend on another athlete, and I will perhaps eliminate this pending issue. Everything is a negotiation. Now, as we have nothing but a hypothesis, he is a São Paulo player , he must present himself as the great employee that he is and we will evaluate this issue”, he added.

Urgent need for reinforcements

After the Copa América, James requested a period of time off from São Paulo and is expected back at the club next week. The player has no space with coach Luis Zubeldía , who, on the other hand, is urgently asking for reinforcements for the team.

“We urgently need players. The managers know that. It’s not about having options in the squad. We have a lot of defensive midfielders, but they don’t play in that position. We’re going to have the worst version of the players we have,” said the coach.

The coach suggested signing a left-back, a defensive midfielder and a defender.