TRANSFER WINDOW
The Botafogo coach is tipped to receive a salary three times higher than that paid by the black and white team
Published on December 15, 2024 at 7:31 pm
Artur Jorge, Botafogo coach Credit: Vítor Silva/Botafogo FR
In its golden age, Botafogo is watching one of the main players in its success this season, coach Artur Jorge, think of new paths. Qatari club Al-Rayyan has been targeting the Portuguese, offering almost three times the salary he receives at the Brazilian club.
Despite the values, Jorge will only decide on his future after meeting with John Textor, owner of SAF do Botafogo. Initially, it is not in the American’s interests to lose the coach, which led him to consider a salary increase when renewing Artur’s contract.
The black and white coach’s salary, today, is already higher than the initial one, due to performance bonuses won by the Libertadores and the Brasileirão. Still, the increase at the Qatari club would be even greater.
The Asian team had been scouting Artur for two months, but due to Botafogo’s current focus on the competitions they were competing in, there were no proposals or negotiations. The contact came only after the black and white titles.
Currently, Al-Rayyan’s coach is Younes Ali, who has so far won just four of 19 Qatar SUper League matches. Since September at the head of the squad, Ali has not delivered good numbers, and may be seeing his downfall at the club approaching.
Artur Jorge’s side
In turn, the Botafogo coach has conflicting opinions about the negotiation. Divided between continuing his work in the prosperous black and white club and finding new opportunities (and salaries) in Asia, the Portuguese spoke about the conversations he has been having with the club, reaffirming at all times that nothing will be defined without a meeting with Textor.
“I have everything open. The proposals that exist, mainly from the Arab world, are very tempting from a financial point of view, but they appeared even before Peñarol (Botafogo’s opponent in the Libertadores semi-final), they are proposals that have been around for some time and I have never looked into them much, because I wanted to win titles and had a huge focus on the Libertadores and the Brazilian Championship. We have to think and see how we are going to decide the future”, he commented in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper “A Bola”, after arriving in Porto.
“I have a contract with Botafogo. There are, in fact, some possibilities and proposals on the table. Both Cajuda, who is my agent, and Botafogo, are aware of all this. Everything will work out for the good of everyone. Now, I come to Portugal to enjoy my family and be home to rest after a super intense year. After that, we will understand what the beginning of January will be like for the start of a new season, wherever we are,” he added.
For the coach, remaining at Botafogo would be linked to the sporting protagonism that the club has been building in Brazil, essentially after the turnaround experienced in recent years.
“I understand that there can be a lot of talking. My agent always showed that there were offers for me to leave. The project is the most important thing, which players we will have, whether it will be a year of many changes with departures. We created a very strong team. We haven’t talked about it yet. I had a difficult week, because we immediately went to Qatar to play the Intercontinental”, said Artur.
Whether it goes or stays, it is certain that the coach is very satisfied with the season he built with the lone star: “It is a season that will go down in history, not only personally, but also for the club. What we did was extraordinary. It was certainly against many odds that we had. We won two big trophies. One of them is a first for the club and the other is a tri. It was a great achievement in what was the first year of the Brasileirão for me.”
