After being strongly criticized by the crowd, Caio Paulista left the Fluminense ready to Sao Paulo at the start of the season. This Saturday (1st), at 4 p.m. (Brasilia time), the two teams will face each other, but the jersey number 38 will not be on the field.

In the agreement signed between the clubs, Tricolor São Paulo would have to pay 1 million reais to the cariocas for him to be released, but the board chose to leave him out of the duel.

« The player wants to play every game…unfortunately I won’t be able to play, but a teammate will come in and replace the position, it will give the same intensity, and I will support São Paulo, » he said in an interview. exclusive. THE ESPN.

Although he won’t be present on the pitch, Caio will be able to help his current club in other ways. Holder of the team with Fernando Diniz for most of 2022, the left-back knows the opponent a lot.

« Fluminense is a great club, a club that has welcomed me for a long time and for many years. It’s a club that made me the man I am today, I learned a lot of things there, a lot of good things, some not so good. But I was always reinforced there by the staff, by the players, they always welcomed me very well and it’s a club that I really like! And it’s going to be a great game. Diniz has his ideas, Dorival too, it’s going to be a great match. It’s going to be an interesting match to watch,” he said.

« Arias’ strong point is that he is a very lively player, protects the ball well and doesn’t lose the ball badly. But Patryck will get the job done and it’s going to be a bad day for Arias. It’s good not to give him space, not to let him breathe… because I think he will have a harder time,” he added.

After his departure, Fluminense arranged for Marcelo to return to play in his position. And Caio Paulista did not hide his admiration for the veteran.

« I watched a lot of videos often, whether it was a striker… I also watched a lot of videos of Júlio Baptista, who was a guy I always liked, and I watched the videos. I look at Marcelo’s video, I’ve always loved him, he has an amazing and successful career, and other players too, from neymar, I see videos of a lot of players,” he concluded.

After 3 years defending Fluminense, a club where he played in the youth teams, Caio has already played for São Paulo in 27 matches and scored 3 goals.

Sao Paulo’s next matches

• Fluminense (C) – 1/7, 4 p.m. – Brasileirao

• Palm trees (C) – 5/7, 7:30 p.m. – Brazil Cup

• Red Bull Bragantino (B) – 09/07, 6:30 p.m. – Brasileirao