Memphis Depay signs with Brazilian club and is again vying for Dutch national team spot
Memphis Depay has found his new club, the Brazilian Corinthians. The 30-year-old had been without a club since last summer when he left Atletico Madrid in Spain. Netherlands men’s national team manager Ronald Koeman has said that Depay will be selected again if he keeps his fitness up at the Brazilian club.
According to Nu.nl, Depay signed a two-year contract at the club on Tuesday. Brazilian media outlets have said that he will earn 500,000 euros a month and will be the highest-paid player in Brazil. He could earn 13.5 million euros in his two years in Brazil.
Depay was not picked for the latest Oranje squad because he did not have a club, but Koeman has said that he will be considered again if he gets fit in Brazil. This was a question for Koeman as he said last week that Steven Bergwijn would not be picked again under him as manager because he joined the Saudi Arabia league.
“I think that the level of the Brazilian league is different. Therefore, he could still get called up, but that depends on whether he plays, is fit, and reaches his level. That is the most important in the end,” Koeman told reporters.
Corinthians have had a very unsuccessful season thus far. The club is currently in the relegation spots, 17th in a league with 20 teams. However, the club has reached the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals, which is the South American equivalent of the Europa League in Europe.
This is Depay’s sixth club in his career. He broke through at PSV Eindhoven before leaving the club to join Manchester United. His spell in England was unsuccessful, which led him to Olympique Lyonnais in France, where he got his career back on track. After this, he played for FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid before now playing in Brazil.