[REVISION HISTORY]

Santos FC financial crisis deepens

Updated 8 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-03 20:25 UTC → 2026-08-04 23:06 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Santos FC’s cash‑flow problems persisted through June and July 2026. The board began courting buyers for goalkeeper Gabriel Brazão, with Turkish side Beşiktaş showing interest after Santos rejected a €10 million bid. By the end of June the club admitted it could only afford 25 % of striker Gabriel Barbosa’s (Gabigol) salary, delaying wages and warning that covering the full contract would be impossible. In early July the club announced a strategy to sell internal assets – including promising forward Robinho Jr., goalkeeper Brazão and defender JP Chermont – while arranging a non‑official friendly against União São João. On 8 July Santos formally terminated the contracts of forwards Billal Brahimi and Lautaro Díaz, saving roughly R$ 8 million. The team faced Botafogo in its first post‑World Cup league match on 16 July; Botafogo highlighted low ticket sales and promoted three under‑17 players for the fixture. On 18 July Santos and forward Tiquinho Soares mutually rescinded his contract, making him a free agent. A three‑month delay in image‑rights payments was confirmed on 20 July, with the board promising a payment plan by 31 July. The FIFA transfer ban over a R$ 1.09 billion debt to Monaco remained in force. In the Copa do Brasil, Santos drew 0‑0 with Remo in the first leg on 1 August. Ticket sales for the second leg surged past 20 000, the Lado A stand sold out and remaining seats were priced between R$80 and R$300. Neymar was confirmed to travel to Belém for the 4 August match, though the squad will miss right‑back Igor Vinícius (lumbar issue) and defender Lucas Veríssimo. Santos will again be without those two players, while Remo will miss several men due to injury or contractual problems.

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