Ahead of a move to West Ham United, São Paulo defender Luizão has announced his farewell to the club.
On Instagram, the defender published a post thanking the Brazilian side, and left them a message.
His farewell is covered by Gazeta Esportiva, who also features a story about his move from São Paulo to West Ham.
“My cycle at São Paulo comes to an end, gratitude is undoubtedly the word that remains, it was 6 years of a lot of learning and work, I arrived a dreamy boy and I leave the club a man with objectives and goals to be met, I know that many will judge the way I leave but I make it clear that above all I maintain my respect and love for the club, thank you São Paulo Futebol Clube.”
It’s claimed that the defender turned down several offers from the Tricolor to renew his contract, and ended up choosing to leave as a free agent.
The story recalls that both Fulham and West Ham had been ‘monitoring’ his situation, and it was really the Hammers who won the race in the end.
To avoid being left empty-handed, São Paulo ended up agreeing to his early departure, meaning that instead of only letting him go at the end of his contract by the end of January, they already accepted his move to London, and will now have 15% of a future transfer.
West Ham should then have the player available by the start of the transfer window. Luizão is a player who was still showing his potential in Brazil, so is unlikely to quickly become an important player for David Moyes’ side.
