Santos FC are considering inviting Manchester City for a friendly match in Brazil, UOL reports. Pep Guardiola’s club have a rising prominence in Brazil thanks to Fernando and Fernandinho, with Gabriel Jesus due to arrive soon.
Robinho was one of Manchester City’s first big signings, but Elano was already at the club to welcome him.
The friendly, which we assume is still just an idea, would mark Elano’s last match for Santos, as the midfielder has just announced his retirement at the age of 35.
The player will now have a role on the club’s staff. It won’t be much different than what he’s been doing in the past year, only making 13 appearances for the club.
Most of Elano’s work at Santos has been off the pitch, where he gives advice to youngsters and helps players during training sessions, especially improving their set pieces.
But to honour his retirement, Santos would schedule a farewell match during one of the next international breaks.
As Elano played for Manchester City for two seasons between 2007 and 2009, the English side would be the guests. But UOL still have no information to say if the contacts between the clubs have already been made.
Elano won many trophies at the Brazilian club, including two league titles in 2002 and 2004 and a Copa Libertadores in 2011.
Santos’ idea is to do something similar to the friendly with Benfica they had this year. It was the farewell to the club legend Leo, who played for both sides. The match was played at Santos’ stadium and ended with a 1-1 draw.
Santos would prefer a home match, obviously, but Pep Guardiola may not be happy sending a side to Brazil during the season. Any side that was sent would obviously not include the club’s internationals, so would be very patched up.
A match in Manchester could be more fitting for Guardiola and City, but then there’s also the question of timing. Whilst from an English point of view a pre-season friendly would work best, but then that may not fit in with the Brazilian football calendar.
This one appears to be at embryonic stage.
