Corinthians, led by Argentine Ramón Díaz, is close to completing one of the most surprising signings in its history: it agreed on Friday the arrival of the Dutch striker Memphis Depay30 years old.
Memphis Depay returned to the Netherlands national team after almost a year of absence in the orange jersey. @OnsOranje
Depay is now without a club after terminating his contract with Atlético de Madrid and will arrive in Brazil with a two-year contract with Timão, until the end of 2026.
The footballer who played for clubs such as Barcelona and Manchester United throughout his career, he is expected to arrive in Brazil on Sunday to formalize his relationship with the São Paulo team.
The 98-time international will earn around 500,000 euros a month in Brazil. In total, the striker is expected to earn 13.5 million euros over two years, including bonuses and transfer fees.
It wasn’t just Brazilians who were interested, Depay was also on the radar of Middle Eastern clubs.
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Esportes da Sorte, the Alvinegro’s main sponsor, will contribute R$57 million. The other R$27 million will be covered by Timão, which is counting on the transfer of part of the profits from marketing actions with Depay.
Depay arrives at Parque São Jorge to fight for a place in attack with Yuri Alberto, Pedro Raúl and Héctor Hernández.
In his final season with Atlético de Madrid, Memphis recorded 9 goals and 2 assists in 31 games. And he broke up with the colchoneros in May of this year.
It shouldn’t be long before he signs up for the competitions Timão is competing in. The deadline for the Copa do Brasil is September 9, that of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, is the 13th and the Brazilian Championship is the 20th.
Life and career of Memphis Depay
Born in the small town of Moordrecht, Memphis Depay spent time at Moordrecht and Sparta Rotterdam before joining giants PSV Eindhoven as a youngster in 2006.
At the traditional black and white club he rose from the under-13s to the top categories, moving up to the professional squad in the 2011/12 season, and scoring 5 goals in 11 games.
The following year he began to make a name for himself at the club, being instrumental in winning a Dutch Championship, a Dutch Cup and a Dutch Super Cup.
After scoring 49 goals in 124 appearances for PSV, Depay was sold to Manchester United in 2015/16 for €34m, rocketing to global stardom.
His time with the Red Devils, however, was marked by problems on and off the field, with very poor performances: just 7 goals and 3 assists in 45 games.
As a result, the English club decided to take a loss and sold Memphis to Lyon the following season for just £16 million.
In France, the Dutchman rediscovered good football and had five great seasons with the team, especially between 2017 and 2019.
In total, he scored 76 goals and provided 54 assists in 178 games for the Ligue 1 club, who only need one more title to finish his time at Lyon on a high note.
In 2021/22, after his contract expired, Depay signed for the Barcelona giants on a free transfer, giving him another chance at one of the titans of European football.
Once again, however, Memphis’ performances fell short of expectations, with several injuries and further off-field episodes undermining his time at Camp Nou.
In total, there were 14 goals and 2 assists in 42 appearances with the Blaugrana mantle.
The Dutchman was also part of the 2022/23 LALIGA and 2023 Spanish Super Cup victories, but ended up leaving Barça in January 2023 to go to Atlético de Madrid for just 3 million euros.
The old problems occurred again and Memphis parted ways with the colchoneros in May of this year, ending his rapid time in Madrid with 13 goals and 3 assists in 40 games.
With the Dutch national team, Depay scored 46 goals in 98 games. He is the second highest scorer in the history of the Oranje, only behind the legendary Robin van Persie, who scored 50 goals.
With the Orange team he was champion of the 2011 U-17 European Championship and was part of historic campaigns, such as the 3rd place in the 2014 World Cup and the semi-final of the 2024 European Championship.
Off the field, Memphis remains known for his flamboyant personality and for taking risks in the music world, even having a “side career” as a hip-hop singer.
