In Brazilian soccer, a great scandal! The fans have beaten the winner of the 2016 Olympic Games, one of the heroes who brought the country the first significant trophy after the misfortune suffered at the 2014 World Cup on home soil. A star for which Spartak and Zenit were willing to pay a good amount of money a few years ago.
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The victim in this story is the striker of Corinthians Luan. The culprits are fans of the Sao Paulo club. The incident occurred on the morning of July 4. As reported by ESPN, Luan and 10 other people, including women, were housed by the same company in a motel. The guests rented the best hotel room with a pool and billiards for 1,750 Brazilian reais (about 330 euros) per night. The footballer relaxed, but then unexpected visitors tensed him up.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the incident. Law enforcement officers have surveillance camera videos at their disposal. According to available records, Luan was dragged out of the room and hit several times in the face. There were four perpetrators and a couple other people were at the motel doors. The attackers said they were members of the Gaviões da Fiel fan group. One of them was identified – this is the leader of the group Danilo Oliveira. Beating Luan, the fans shouted: “Get out of Corinthians! The club must be respected. Get out of here, you coward!”
Corinthians has already issued an official statement. The club criticized the fans and condemned the intolerance and aggression inherent in modern Brazilian football. Luan promised to provide all the necessary assistance.
Luan has been at Corinthians since January 2020. Then, the São Paulo club bought 50% of the rights from Gremio for 5 million euros, a not very high amount, given the amounts that were previously offered for the striker. But last season, Luan played only eight games in the Brazilian championship, and even those on loan at Santos. He has not played for Corinthians since February 2022 and has not played since November of last year.
At the same time, Luan has one of the highest salaries in the Club: 800 thousand reais per month (about €150 thousand). The contract is signed until 2024. The Corinthians board would like to terminate the contract with the striker, but they will only have to pay compensation for six months, but now there are no funds for that. Also, the club owes Luan money for image rights. It cannot be ruled out that one of the bosses has asked the fans to have a tough talk with a player who refuses to comply halfway. Coach Wanderlei Lushenburg doesn’t use Luan because he says the fans don’t want him. Although the position table forces the coach to assess all the skilled footballers on the team, because Corinthians is only 16th.
Could Luan have imagined such a career ending at the age of 30, when he celebrated the 2016 Olympic Games gold with his teammates: Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Gabigol, Marquinhos, Douglas Santos and the rest? In that tournament, the striker scored three goals and provided three assists. After that, he made his debut in the Brazilian first team (he played two games with him) and won the Copa Libertadores (similar to the Champions League) with Gremio, scoring in the final. He received the title of best player of the year in South America. Then Luan reached the peak of the transfer value in his career: Transfermarkt estimated it at €20 million. Liverpool were in talks to buy him, and other top clubs were also interested.
luan and neymar
Photo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images
Probably every Spartak fan remembers this wonderful transfer story: how representatives of the club flew to Brazil for Luan, and instead brought Pedro Rocha to Moscow. Former Los Rojiblancos owner Leonid Fedun has admitted the deal could cost him €30m. Agent Marco Trabucchi said in an interview for Match TV:
“The two Guild players requested by Massimo Carrera turned out to be impossible to buy. Luan was too expensive, Sergey Rodionov (general director of the club. – Approx. “Championship”) spoke out against Everton. He said he didn’t like it. Jorge Machado, an agent who has been working with Spartak for a long time, offered Dmitry Popov (sports director) Rocha instead of Luan and Everton. The signing of the contract soon took place … When Carrera found out from Fedun how much was spent on the Brazilian, he was upset.
According to rumors, Neymar discouraged Luan himself from going to Spartak. Friends of the Olympic team advised the striker to wait for a transfer to a higher club. But it did not work out to go to Europe, and a year later, the negotiations between Gremio and Zenit, which revolved around the amount of 20 million euros, ended in vain.
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Luan’s career was cut short by a chronic foot injury (plantar fasciitis) and a not-so-professional lifestyle. Periodically, the pain worsened, so the striker was given a break, but in his case it required conservative treatment, not surgery. Before moving to Corinthians, Luan was still dreaming of Europe’s top league, and having signed a solid contract with the Sao Paulo club, it seems he simply lost motivation.
