September 8: Shanghai Shenhua Announce Termination of Mineiro Contract, No Thanks in Statement, Seven-Month Scouting Process Under Scrutiny

On the morning of September 7, Shanghai Shenhua Football Club released an announcement. The statement was very short, only a few lines: After reaching an agreement with the player through consultation, Shanghai Shenhua Football Club and player Shalo Mineiro terminate their contract with immediate effect.

Since joining Shenhua in January 2025, Mineiro has made 34 appearances in all competitions and scored 14 goals. The club wished him all the best in his future career.

The announcement contained no word of "thanks," no "blessing," and no words of praise.

After reading it, media figures said the announcement carried a sense of "thunderous anger" between the lines. From Mineiro receiving a red card in the FA Cup, to the Chinese Football Association issuing an additional punishment, and then Shenhua announcing the termination directly, the entire process took only six days.

Those six days were Mineiro's final days at Shenhua and the conclusion Shenhua fans had waited for nearly two years.

Going back to September 1, in the FA Cup quarter-final, Shenhua played away against Dalian Yingbo. Mineiro came on as a substitute and played only 20 minutes.

While the ball was not in play, he used both hands and feet to collide with opposing player Mao Weijie. After reviewing VAR, the referee immediately showed a red card. Shenhua, reduced to 10 men, eventually lost 0-1 and missed the FA Cup semifinals.

On September 4, the Chinese Football Association issued additional punishment: Mineiro was suspended for three matches and fined 15,000 yuan. This was already the second time since joining Shenhua that he had received a red card and an additional suspension for violent conduct.

In the match against Chongqing Tongliang Dragon in May 2026, he lost control of his emotions during stoppage time and punched an opposing player, again receiving a red card. Two red cards and two additional punishments made Mineiro's temper more memorable than his football ability.

Mineiro joined Shenhua in January 2025, with a transfer fee of 950,000 US dollars, approximately 920,000 euros, and a contract running until December 31, 2026.

The signing was personally tracked and evaluated by Shenhua sporting director Sun Xiaotian over a period of seven months. According to fans, Mineiro's market value was not high at the beginning of the evaluation process, but later quickly rose to around 900,000 euros.

Why did Sun Xiaotian spend seven months evaluating a foreign player and eventually sign a player with health concerns? Mineiro had undergone heart and Achilles tendon surgeries before joining, which was not a secret within the industry.

After joining, he frequently suffered injuries. In an away match against Shenzhen Peng City in June 2025, he suffered a rupture of the right rectus femoris tendon and missed the rest of the season.

In the 2026 season, he suffered multiple thigh strains. He played only eight Chinese Super League matches throughout the season, started only twice, and scored two goals.

Over two years, Mineiro made 34 appearances for Shenhua and scored 14 goals. The figure does not look too bad at first glance, but becomes more concerning when examined in detail.

In the first half of the 2025 season, he made 14 Chinese Super League appearances, scored eight goals and provided five assists, showing a relatively impressive performance.

After his serious injury, his form declined sharply. In the 2026 Chinese Super League season, he scored only two goals in eight appearances and spent most of his time recovering. What frustrated Shenhua fans more was that during his recovery, Mineiro repeatedly posted travel and restaurant photos on personal social media, which they felt did not show the anxiety and urgency expected from an injured player.

His defending on the pitch was considered passive, his performances in major matches were weak, and his football intelligence was questioned. Some media outlets commented that he "failed to play the role expected of a foreign player."

Mineiro's failed signing was not an isolated incident.

Behind it was the recruitment work of Shenhua sporting director Sun Xiaotian.

On August 2, 2026, Shenhua's former head coach Slutsky resigned voluntarily due to poor results.

Media figure "Mai Meng Shui Zai Xing" publicly criticized at the time: "Slutsky has taken responsibility, so what about the others?"

Looking again at Shenhua's recruitment: you buy your players, and I use mine.

Jiushi spent so much money, and a considerable amount of it was effectively thrown into the water.

Observers can see that there were major communication problems between Sun Xiaotian and Slutsky regarding recruitment, and the responsibility must be shared by both sides.

Another blogger, "Bu Dong Qiu Zhuan Lan," put it more directly: "Four years have passed, foreign players have come and gone. The normal ones may only be Amadou and Luis; the rest either have problems with their heads or their legs."

Among Shenhua's current six foreign players, four are forwards, but there is no recognized center forward.

This lineup would look unreasonable for any Chinese Super League team. Some bloggers even described it as "a scenario even a beginner playing Football Manager could not create."

After Mineiro's departure, Shenhua's remaining foreign players are Asue, Laton, Teixeira and Manafa.

Among them, Teixeira and Manafa both have contracts expiring at the end of this year.

On September 17, Shenhua will host Singapore's Tampines Rovers in the opening match of the AFC Champions League Two, entering the game with one fewer foreign player available.

The Chinese Super League has five rounds remaining before the end of the season, and several players have also been called up by the U23 Asian Games team, leaving the squad short-handed.

Regarding Mineiro's contract termination, media figure Feng Zhen commented that it "can be considered an explanation from the management to the fans."

But another question has been put on the table: Slutsky has already left after taking responsibility for poor results, but what about sporting director Sun Xiaotian, who was responsible for recruitment? One blogger directly called out: "If you have any sense of responsibility, you should leave together with Slutsky."

"With your ability and vision, the position of Shenhua sporting director is clearly too difficult for you." Since Jiushi took control of Shenhua, the group has invested heavily, but recruitment results have not been ideal.

Mineiro's departure has only revealed one part of the problem.

From signing in January 2025 to termination in September 2026, Mineiro stayed at Shenhua for less than two years, leaving behind a "value-for-money" questioned recruitment record and two red cards.

The future of Shenhua sporting director Sun Xiaotian will be the first measure of whether the club's management is determined to hold people accountable.