Santos deny reports of Arouca exit in January

Santos vice-president Odilio Rodrigues has ruled-out a proposed player swap, which would have seen the Paulista side concede midfielder Arouca to Atlético Mineiro in exchange for on-loan striker André arriving permanently. The official reiterated the importance of Arouca to the club and insisted that he would not be leaving this January, despite Gazzetta Dello Sport […]
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sambafoot_admin
2012-11-04 00:45:00

Santos vice-president Odilio Rodrigues has ruled-out a proposed player swap, which would have seen the Paulista side concede midfielder Arouca to Atlético Mineiro in exchange for on-loan striker André arriving permanently.

The official reiterated the importance of Arouca to the club and insisted that he would not be leaving this January, despite Gazzetta Dello Sport also reporting interest from Série A giants Roma.

“If something arrives, I will pass it on to other people – I do not respond alone,” he told Lancenet. “However, it’s not the time to be selling out players.

“Arouca is a starter for us and part of our project to build a strong team in 2013, we want to continue with him.”

Regarding possible interest from Roma, Rodrigues added, “Nothing has arrived for anyone and we have no interest in selling him. Offers from Europe arrived last transfer window and we rejected them.”

The 26-year-old midfielder has been a fixture in recent Brazil squads and has enjoyed great success at Santos, since arriving in 2010. Arouca has been part of the Santos sides that have won three state championships, a Copa do Brasil, a Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sul-Americana titles.