Living through the phase with the most injuries in his entire career, unable to string together a sequence at the most decisive moment of São Paulo’s season and questioned by the fans, Oscar almost took a drastic measure: ending his career.

This information was released on Wednesday (29) by ‘ESPN‘. Sources consulted by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR throughout the day did not confirm the information. A person close to the number 8 initially called the report “false,” but a few minutes later deleted the response given to the report via a messaging app and said “they could not comment on the matter.”

According to the report published on the broadcaster’s website, the 34-year-old attacking midfielder had talked with close people in recent weeks and considered retiring, especially due to the physical and clinical difficulties of returning to the field.

Also according to ‘ESPN‘, Oscar reconsidered the idea after being convinced by family members. The broadcaster also notes that “the player is determined to make a comeback, especially at São Paulo itself.”

“He will do everything to recover well in the next pre-season and, therefore, considers the first six months of 2026 as ‘decisive’ to define his future,” the article points out.

To our report, sources only mentioned that Oscar is quite upset with the criticism regarding his cost-benefit and his importance within the group. His understanding and that of his family is that part of the press, especially the segmented and influencers, are blaming him for the physical and clinical issues.

“He’s been ‘killing himself’ to get better. He was very shaken by not being present in the Libertadores decision. And even injured, he never stopped going to the training center and Morumbi during games, staying close to the group, guiding the younger ones, talking to the coaching staff. What happened this year was a misfortune, but people don’t seem to care about that. And they keep exposing personal matters with these calculations of how much he cost per game. Contracts are confidential and should be respected. Fortunately, the motivation to make a comeback next year is very high. And people will see that,” said a member of the number 8’s staff to AMT this evening.

THE TOUGH LUCK OF NUMBER 8 AND THE DIFFICULTY IN REGAINING IDOL STATUS

As AMT revealed two weeks ago, the internal atmosphere at São Paulo is pessimistic about the utilization of attacking midfielder Oscar in the team in this final stretch of the Brazilian Championship, where the team fights to secure a spot in the next edition of the Copa Libertadores.

The player is once again absent from the club after training this Monday (13).

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR found out from sources within São Paulo’s football management that the most optimistic prognosis for the number 8’s return to the field (for training, it is important to note) is six weeks.

In simpler terms, the tendency is that Oscar will only be 100% recovered, including physically, when the Brasileirão is over (Tricolor’s last game is on December 7, against Vitória, away).

Even before the new injury, there was internal caution at the Morumbi club regarding their player. Oscar has not played for Tricolor since the 2-2 draw with Bragantino, away, on July 16, in the Brazilian Championship. On that occasion, the midfielder suffered a fracture of three lumbar vertebrae and missed 16 matches recovering from the injury.

In the last two games, the number 8 was listed by coach Hernán Crespo but ended up not playing, still feeling the lack of better physical condition.

This is yet another chapter in the history of disappointments for the attacking midfielder in his return to São Paulo after 15 years.

In practical and absolute numbers, Oscar suffered his fifth injury since the beginning of the year. This equals the total number of injuries he suffered in the 12 years he spent outside Brazil, between 2012 and 2024, with Chelsea, England, and Shanghai Port, China.

Adding the four injuries before this one, the number 8 spent 175 days recovering, available in 30 of the 57 matches played by the club this season. He made 23 appearances, 19 as a starter, and only nine for the full ninety minutes. In total, he spent 1,591 minutes on the field, equivalent to 31% of the total played by the team.

This is such a low index that any debate about the exact value of his salary becomes irrelevant: it doesn’t matter if it’s closer to one million reais or three million, the cost-benefit is poor in any scenario, unless, perhaps, if the contract were for a newly promoted youth player.

And it sparks internal debates at Morumbi. As AMT found out, there are quite a few people close to president Julio Casares who advocate for an amicable termination with the player for next year, relieving the payroll. However, the subject is currently avoided by the football board.

In a press conference on Tuesday morning (14), Casares believes that Oscar’s signing, under the terms it was closed, was done responsibly. São Paulo shares the responsibility of paying the player’s salary with Superbet, the club’s main sponsor.

“I believe that Oscar, like other players, was a responsible signing. Oscar, when he chose São Paulo, was being sought by two other major clubs in Brazil. The fact that he got injured is within a sporting panorama, where other players also have this occurrence. We hope he will be in our squad recovering and can bring the joy for which he was hired,” he stated.

“He was signed with a partnership of just under half funded by the sponsor. All this gives us the certainty that the renewal with Superbet also contributed to Oscar’s arrival. I believe Oscar’s arrival was highly responsible, as all signings have been responsible. It is evident that some do not happen at the moment. The less evident ones occur over time, like the case of Marcos Antonio. Signings have a subjectivity. The dynamics over time answer the question of hits and misses, which sometimes depend on other factors,” the president continued.

Oscar has become the embodiment of what São Paulo swore to avoid: high investment and low return from names that symbolize the past. The recent history of players returning from China already indicated the risk: Alexandre Pato, Éder Citadini, Hernanes, and Miranda had performances well below expectations — and, of these, only Pato escaped frequent injuries.

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

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