Fluminense will not activate buy option for Marquinhos as winger set to return Arsenal

Fluminense will not activate the purchase option in Marquinhos’ loan agreement with the team, according to journalist Uriel Iugt. At the end of the season, the winger will rejoin the Gunners, and Arsenal will then look for a new team to sign him. There are just two games left in Fluminense’s current campaign because the Brazilian season is calendar-based. On Thursday, December 5th, they play Cuiaba, and on Sunday, December 8th, they play Palmeiras.

That means Marquinho’s stint with Fluminense should be ended by the end of this week. Fluminense’s contract was a buyout option rather than a commitment, and Arsenal had included a 50% sell-on clause for any subsequent acquisitions. However, it appears that option will expire. It wasn’t a bad beginning for Marquinhos with Fluminense. After his arrival, he immediately established himself in the league’s starting lineup, appearing in all but two of their first nine Serie A games.

Arsenal loanee now likely to return in January

In February, Marquinhos, a winger for Arsenal, signed a one-year loan to Fluminense. Because the Brazilian season is calendar-year-based, he had the opportunity to play the entirety of their 2024 campaign. In addition to a buyout option, the contract featured a 50% sell-on provision for any subsequent moves in case Fluminense chose to make the move permanent before subsequently cashing in on him.

The decision also had the benefit of delaying the matter of Marquinhos’ long-term future for a year, which allowed him to play football in the interim. A return to Arsenal, however, seems to be the most likely scenario more than eight months later.