Zé Roberto dreams of Vila Belmiro.
After his contract renewal with Hamburg fell through, the midfielder has made Santos his priority.
247, with information from Agência Estado – A star player who left a lasting impression on Santos fans is close to returning to Vila Belmiro. Since announcing that he would not renew his contract with Hamburg, midfielder Zé Roberto has been considered a possible reinforcement for several Brazilian clubs, especially Santos, where he played between 2006 and 2007. The player admitted his interest in returning to the country, said he received inquiries, but that his priority is indeed the Santos team.
“There have already been talks with some clubs in Brazil. But, in a conversation I had in the first half of the year with the president of Santos, I gave my word that if there was a possibility of me returning to play in Brazil, Santos would be the first club I would talk to. Therefore, I didn't rule out the other clubs that contacted me, but I said that I would first attend to Santos,” declared Zé Roberto, in an interview with Estadão/ESPN radio.
At 36 years old, the experienced midfielder left Hamburg after receiving a contract renewal offer for only one year, while he wanted at least two more seasons. Since then, he has made no secret of his desire to return to Santos and a decision regarding his future may be made in the coming weeks.
"There has already been initial contact, in which we scheduled a meeting between my representative and the Santos board by the end of the month, to really see what their interests are and if there is a possibility of me returning to play in Brazil," the player revealed.
Despite wanting to return to Brazil, Zé Roberto admits the possibility of remaining in Europe, mainly in Germany, where he played for a large part of his career – from 1999 to 2006 and then from 2007 onwards. “Since my contract with Hamburg ended and we didn't reach an agreement for renewal, I opted to listen to other clubs. So there are still other interested clubs in Europe. I've already spoken to some teams in Germany, so that in a few weeks I can define my situation,” the player noted.