Bielsa, Santos talks fall through

Santos have announced Marcelo Bielsa will not be appointed as their new coach after negotiations between the parties collapsed.

The former Athletic Bilbao coach was expected to fly into Brazil on Wednesday to finalise a deal which would see him succeed interim boss Claudinei Oliveira at the club.

However, disagreements over the personal terms are believed to have contributed to the breakdown in negotiations, with reports suggesting the club are reluctant to offer anything above an 18-month contract, while Bielsa was said to be keen on being handed a long-term deal.

Santos, though, released a statement on the club’s official website citing creative differences as the reason Bielsa will not be arriving at Estadio Vila Belmiro.

The statement read: “Santos can announce that negotiations with the Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa have closed.

“Both we and the coach failed to reach an agreement on which the direction the club should be going, which will prevent his arrival.”

Bielsa, 57, has spent the last two years with Athletic but left the club after the board decided he did not deserve a new deal following a 12th-placed finish in La Liga last season.