In February 2020, Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil received the same question. His team’s top scorer, Willian José, not only scored a lot, but also generated a lot of rumors. The interest of Atlético de Madrid, Juventus, Barça, whoever is not on this list. And at each press conference, the coach responded with standard phrases. But one day he was direct: “If someone spends 70 million euros, then fine, let them go. This story is starting to piss me off. He is our player and he should play with us until the end of the season.”
That season, José scored 11 goals. For the fourth time in a row I reached the 10+ goal mark. The spring, when they didn’t let him go anywhere, he really turned out to be average. Covid, the suspension of the Spanish championship, there are too many factors against it. The forward didn’t go anywhere. And from that moment on, no one offered much money for it.
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From the interior to Real Madrid
But what a fate for the boy! It has all the elements of a documentary about a rise that was never predicted. Born near Sao Paulo into a poor family, he made his professional debut in 2009 with Gremio Prudente. Through him he went to Uruguay, where he joined Deportivo Maldonado. He never played for this club, but he left on loan. It seemed that his career might end somewhere among the middle peasants of South America. After all, Willian’s scoring skills were not particularly different, and then, an offer from Real that was unexpected for anyone.
The rental request came in January 2014. Then the guy temporarily rushed to help Santos. And here it is. José himself was clearly shocked: “I was in Brazil and I received an offer. This is incredible! The biggest club, with world stars, and I had the opportunity to train with them. Fantastic!”
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First, the Brazilian was sent to Castilla, where he really showed himself well. He scored, played for the team and received an invitation to work with the team. He was included several times in the lineup for First League matches and even made his debut in the match against Celta: 22 minutes, which he will definitely remember forever. But here the Madrid fairy tale ended. José was never offered a contract, but Willian did the most important thing: he was remembered by the circle of Spanish scouts.
It is logical that inviting a boy to your house, even if he is only on the Real Madrid squad, is a privilege. So José’s next two assignments were in Zaragoza and Las Palmas. There he scored 10 goals per season, but clubs were still afraid to activate the termination option. Until Real Sociedad arrived with 3 million euros. And so his Spanish career began in full swing.
Willian Jose
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Not selfish at all
The time at the Society was great. Alguacil knew how to properly take advantage of the player’s strengths: combat, the ability to hold onto balls, great execution. And the main thing is to play for your teammates. Willian is not selfish at all. People like that don’t stay in San Sebastián. It is not surprising that a few years later the Brazilian caught the attention of the giants. But the club missed the moment to sell, now it is obvious. The following season (after interest from superiors) was much weaker for José, in winter he even went to England to restart; And he returned to Betis, who first tried him out on loan and then paid him 10 million.
The 2022/2023 season was unsuccessful for the Brazilian. He left the starting eleven and became a backup option from the bench. And he scored only two goals. Then it seemed that little by little they would say goodbye to José. And they will be sent to a lower level team. But Willian himself did not agree with this: he found motivation and last year he played at his best level: he helped the club get to the European competition and, according to his personal statistics, he gave 10 + 5 . Very solid indeed.
Willian Jose
Photo: Alex Caparrós/Getty Images
And, it seems, this form could carry over to next season. But apparently the club thought the cycle had come to an end. And here comes an offer of 1.5 million euros from Spartak, as reported by the Telegram channel U Kuzmich and SE. They add that the striker has already signed a personal contract and will soon move to Russia.
Yes, José is already 32 years old and will turn 33 in November. This is probably the last major contract of his career. But if he stays motivated, this could be a very interesting match.
