Nino’s name gained strength again in the football market and entered Palmeiras’ radar this summer, but the scenario is far from simple. Despite the interest from Verdão and also from Fluminense, Zenit has already decided on the defender’s future at the start of the season.
With that, the question remains? Which club will Nino play for? THE Sporting News show.
MORE: What is Fluminense’s deadline to cover Arias’ proposal?
Nino at Palmeiras?
According to an investigation by “ESPN”, Zenit decided that will not negotiate Nino now. An absolute starter in the team led by Sergei Semak, the 28-year-old defender is treated as a key player and will remain in Saint Petersburg, at least for the next few months. Zenit’s board even adopted the policy of not releasing foreign athletes who are part of the main team.
Even in the face of Russian denial, Palmeiras and Fluminense continue to move behind the scenes. The dispute is intense, but Tricolor das Laranjeiras currently appears ahead of Alviverde, largely due to Nino’s strong identification with the Rio club, where he was multi-champion.
Palmeiras, in turn, did not give up easily. The São Paulo club even sent an emissary to the United Arab Emirates, where Zenit holds pre-season friendlies, in an attempt to advance the talks. Verdão’s initial idea was to have the defender in February, but the board was aware of the difficulties and was working with the possibility of leaving everything ready for the middle of the year.
Thus, Palmeiras’ interest in Nino remains alive, but for now it comes up against Zenit’s firm stance and direct competition from Fluminense, which is trying to use the emotional bond to gain an advantage in the race for the defender.
Just an “update”:
Palmeiras has had a principle in agreement with Nino since January 17th, as we mentioned in the @onossopalestra
Since then, he has tried to resolve it with Zenit, who proves to be irreducible
In the meantime, he probed names like Alexsandro to understand conditions and… pic.twitter.com/N9dUsAEsNn
— Leonardo Barbieri (@Infos_palestra) February 4, 2026
Nino no Zenit numbers
- 66 games
- 3 goals
- 1 assist
