Rangers hero set to end miserable spell at Pele's old club as ambitious South American side make transfer move
The former Ibrox hitman is on the brink of another transfer as he gets ready to end his Santos misery
Under-fire ex-Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos is on the brink of ending his torrid spell at Santos by securing a move back to Colombia with ambitious side America de Cali.
The 28-year-old hitman spent almost five months without a club after leaving Ibrox last summer before eventually joining Pele’s old team in Brazil as one of their highest wage earners. But he has endured a nightmare 10 months after failing to prevent Santos from suffering a shock relegation from the top-flight for the first time in their history.
Morelos managed just four starts this season and scored only twice in 11 appearances last term. Despite being under contact until 2026, he has seemingly reached a career crossroads after being frozen out of the first-team picture and hasn’t featured for the club in almost a month due to ongoing fitness issues. President Marcelo Teixeira claimed back in March that they would need to terminate the player’s bumper contract early because it was a remnant of “past administrations of the club’ and ‘El Buffalo’ has since been told he will be offloaded if a suitable offer is received that will match his reported £19,000-a-week salary.
Now, it appears Santos could be about to get their wish with America de Cali opening negotiations with Morelos and his representatives over a potential return to his homeland. Another Colombian side - Atletico Junior - had initially held talks with Santos and attempted to sign him in early June, but the deal collapsed.
Tenth-placed America de Cali are looking to climb up the Primera A table and view Morelos are the man capable of firing them into the top half. He looks set to play his football in Colombia again for the first time since 2016 after moving to Europe with HJK Helsinki from Independiente Medellin to HJK Helsinki, before eventually joining Rangers in 2017. WATCH THE LATEST EPISODE OF NATIONALWORLD ‘FITBAW TALK’
During his six-year spell in Govan, Morelos scored 124 goals in 269 games in total for the club before clinching a move to South America last year. He was previously handed a firm defence by his agent amid criticism from Santos over problems relating to his fitness last month.
He told A Tribuna: “Alfredo has made a great effort to stay at Santos, because he loves the club. He even has a personal trainer who helps him improve his physical conditioning. He is training to help the club return to the first division and is waiting for the opportunity. When his turn comes, he will demonstrate that in addition to being Santos’ best striker, he will be one of the best in Brazilian football.”