Sporting Transfer Market: Napoli Confirms Alisson Santos Signing

Napoli officially confirmed on Friday the permanent acquisition of Alisson Santos, exercising their buy option on the player from Sporting CP.

«Napoli announces that it has exercised its option to permanently acquire the sporting rights of player Alisson de Almeida Santos from Sporting Clube de Portugal. On February 10th, he made his debut in a blue shirt in the Coppa Italia match against Como, where he scored one of the penalties. Five days later, he scored in the match at the Maradona Stadium against Roma, leveling the score at 2-2. He played fifteen games, scoring four goals and standing out with a series of top-tier performances. Congratulations, Alisson,» the statement read.

A product of Vitória da Bahia's youth academy, Alisson Santos represented the senior team in 49 matches between 2021 and August 2023, scoring three goals and providing two assists during that period. His professional debut coincided with a challenging phase for the club, which ultimately led to their relegation to Série C.

Following loan spells at Náutico and Figueirense, the forward moved to Portugal to play for União de Leiria in the 2024/25 season. While with the Liga 2 side, he netted six goals in 18 appearances, which caught the attention of Sporting, who then moved to sign the Brazilian.

Wearing the lion's crest, Alisson featured in 28 games and scored three goals, all in the UEFA Champions League, which drew the interest of Napoli. The Italian club secured his loan in February of this year and, now convinced by his performance—four goals in 15 games—decided to exercise the permanent buy option for the 23-year-old, after having paid a €3.5 million loan fee.

Now, the Italian club will disburse an additional €16.5 million (bringing Sporting's total earnings to €20 million), with the Brazilian expected to sign a long-term contract.

It's worth noting that Alisson arrived at Alvalade from Vitória da Bahia for €2.1 million, signing a contract until June 2030 with an €80 million release clause. The Brazilian club also retained a 10% sell-on clause for any future transfer.