Memo Ochoa Brazil
Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa looks on during their 2014 World Cup Group A soccer match against Brazil at the Castelao arena in Fortaleza June 17, 2014. Could the Mexican legend return to Brazil next year? REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo

Add another team to the long list of potential Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa landing spots. Rumors out of Rio de Janeiro have the Mexican goalkeeper headed to Brazilian club Santos, come January. Ochoa currently plays for Spanish club, Malaga, where he is the backup goalkeeper behind Cameroon international, Carlos Kameni.

Ochoa signed with Malaga on a free transfer this summer after an outstanding performance at the World Cup in Brazil. After shutting out host nation, Brazil during group play, Ochoa earned himself the nickname, “The Fortress of Fortaleza,” and he had many suitors on the open transfer market. Unfortunately for Ochoa, he fell out of favor at Malaga and is currently weighing all his options come January.

The frustrated Ochoa also has interest from Premier League clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal as well as Turkish club, Trabzonspor. However, Santos is now entering to the mix and have publicly stated that they are targeting Ochoa. Santos will be electing a new president to run the club this December and the favorite to take over is Nabil Khaznadar. Khaznadar has already promised major changes if he is elected and one of those changes is adding is the “Fortress of Fortaleza.”

“We are interested in several players from La Liga and one of them is Ochoa,” he told AS. “At Santos we don’t have a good goalkeeper and Ochoa meets all the requirements. We want a great player and an icon in terms of marketing, and we believe in his potential after what we saw in the World Cup.”

Nothing has been agreed to yet, but we do know that Ochoa plays well on Brazilian soil and after his performance against their country at the World Cup; Memo could certainly be a marketing maven. If Santos could swoop in and steal Memo Ochoa from the EPL and La Liga it would certainly be a tremendous coup for the Brazilian giants.

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