Russian club assistant comments on the possibility of Yuri Alberto returning to Europe and praises Filho do Terrão
- By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial
The European football transfer window for the 2026/2027 season will open in mid-July and is usually busy, as clubs open their coffers to assemble their squads to fight for the main titles. In recent years, one of the most targeted players playing in Brazil is striker Yuri Alberto, from Corinthians.
William Oliveira, assistant coach at Zenit, in Russia, where Yuri Alberto played in the first six months of 2022, gave an interview to the Fala Fonte program, on ESPN Brasil, praised the Alvinegro center forward, in addition to remembering his time with the Russian team. There, he scored six goals and provided three assists in 15 matches. He returned to Brazil shortly afterwards due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as FIFA allowed the suspension of the contracts of athletes who played in these two countries during that period.
Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians
"Yuri? As a player, it's a position that everyone needs. We know it well and would have all the quality to return and, suddenly, continue with his story here. When the conflicts started, he decided to return to Brazil, wait what would happen. His desire was to play in the Champions League. He was the only player who wanted to return to Brazil. The club spoke to Corinthians, and then negotiations began with the Brazilian teams. We negotiated, gave in, kept 50% and closed with other athletes", said.
Yuri Alberto was hired by Corinthians in July 2022, initially on loan from the Russian team. At the beginning of 2023, the Parque São Jorge club agreed to the definitive purchase of the athlete and gave goalkeeper Ivan, defender Robert Renan, midfielder Du Queiroz and striker Gustavo Mantuan in exchange, in addition to the priority purchase of young striker Pedro, at the time 17 years old. Timão kept 50% of its economic rights, while Zenit kept the other part.
Revealed in Santos' youth categories, Yuri Alberto left Baixada Santista for free in mid-2020 to join Internacional. In the South, he stayed until the end of the 2021 season. In January 2022, he was acquired by Zenit for 25 million euros (approximately R$150 million at the time).
Wearing the Corinthians shirt, Yuri Alberto has 82 goals and 25 assists in 236 games (202 as a starter), with 105 wins, 61 draws and 70 defeats - 53.11% success rate. He is the club's top scorer in the 21st century and the top scorer at Neo Química Arena, founded in 2014, with 51 goals scored. Your contract with Timão is valid until mid-2030.
In terms of numbers, his best year in his career came in 2024, when he was top scorer in Brazilian football with 31 goals scored - 15 of them in the Brasileirão - top scorer in the tournament alongside Alerrandro, at the time at Vitória, being fundamental in the team's rise in the national competition that year (from Z4 to Pré-Libertadores). The number 9 was also decisive in winning the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, scoring goals in the three finals.
Son of Terrão was also remembered
William Oliveira also highlighted the potential of Pedro, who made his professional debut for Corinthians in March 2023, after consolidating himself as one of the great promises of the club's academy. In juniors, their main titles were the U17 state championship in 2021 and 2023, against Palmeiras and São Paulo, respectively. For the main team, however, he didn't have much of a run, scoring just one goal in 22 matches (nine as a starter). In the Russian team since the middle of the 2023/2024 season, there are 11 goals and 10 assists in 84 games, according to the Ogol website.
"He's a boy with insane quality, I believe you'll hear a lot about him in world football. It's a matter for the board, we know his desire to suddenly seek a new horizon. The board knows and is controlling", he commented.
Corinthians, under the management of former president Duílio Monteiro Alves, sold the winger for nine million euros (R$47 million at the time) for 50% of the economic rights and, initially, keeping 30%. However, in the first year of Augusto Melo's management, Timão, without official announcement, transferred the part it held in the athlete as a form of payment for a debt it had with Elenko Sports, which manages the player's career.
The fact only came to light in mid-2025, when Al-Ittihad, from Saudi Arabia, showed interest in buying the athlete and Alvinegro would lose a considerable amount if the transfer took place. Currently, Corinthians is entitled to only 2.5% of the values of a possible negotiation involving Pedro. The amount refers to the FIFA Solidarity Mechanism.
At Zenit, Pedro has already won two Russian championships (2023/2024 and 2025/2026), one Russian Cup (2023/2024) and one Russian Super Cup (2024).
The post Russian club assistant comments on the possibility of Yuri Alberto returning to Europe and praises Filho do Terrão first appeared on Central do Timão.
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Source: Timao Central