Corinthians admit that Pato Chelsea loan was a bad deal

Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade has admitted that Pato’s failed loan spell with Chelsea has proved to be a bad deal for the club. The Brazilian striker spent an unsuccessful 5 month loan deal with Chelsea this year. The London club opted not to make the deal permanent and Pato is due to return to […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-07-04 20:57:00

Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade has admitted that Pato’s failed loan spell with Chelsea has proved to be a bad deal for the club. The Brazilian striker spent an unsuccessful 5 month loan deal with Chelsea this year.

The London club opted not to make the deal permanent and Pato is due to return to training with Corinthians on Tuesday. Pato fell out with previous coach Tite, who has now left to take the Brazil job. New manager Cristavão Borges would be open to playing Pato, who also spent two years on loan at São Paulo following a miserable season with Timão in 2013. But Cristavão insists Pato will only be considered if he is in the right state of mind.

Corinthians director Roberto de Andrade admitted that the loan deal with Chelsea had proved to be bad business prior to Corinthians’ 4-0 win over Flamengo, “Today it’s easy to say it was a bad deal, but we have to calculate before. At the time no one said anything. Today we did not take advantage technically or financially, so I can say it was a bad deal.”

Pato’s contract runs out in January, meaning he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club for a free transfer. Coach Cristavão Borges insists Pato will only be made available for selection if his “body and soul” is on the job.

“We have to await his arrival. But we have to respect the player’s will. To play in the team any player has to have their body and soul committed, and Pato has the right to choose another club now. I’ll talk to him to clear and settle this on Tuesday.”

De Andrade says that the club will use the player if he is willing to play, “We know that if we pay his salary, why not use him? I see nothing as impossible. But it will now depend on the coach’s conversation with him, there is a chance he leaves too. If nothing appears, if he will play or not, that is with the coach. But he will be training with the group like any other player.”

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