Zakaria Labyad's Tribute to Memphis Depay at Corinthians
Zakaria Labyad had barely finished silencing Montevideo when he started making noise in São Paulo.
The Moroccan midfielder snatched a crucial continental draw for Corinthians against Peñarol, then turned his equaliser into a message. Arms raised, fingers jammed into his ears, he copied Memphis Depay’s trademark celebration – not for show, but as a public plea.
The point in Uruguay mattered. The gesture might matter even more.
A tribute with an agenda
Speaking afterwards, Labyad made no attempt to disguise the meaning behind the celebration or the mood inside the dressing room.
“Yes, of course [the celebration was a tribute to Memphis],” he told ESPN, before pushing the real issue into the spotlight.
“It’s very important for the club to take the next step so that he stays with the club. We’ve seen what he’s done in the last two years with the players, for the club, winning three trophies, helping them avoid relegation. He did a great job for the team, so for the club, for us players, we would love for him to stay at Corinthians.”
It was less a soundbite than a line in the sand. The squad have closed ranks around their talisman and are making their stance clear: they want Depay’s future resolved, and they want it resolved at Corinthians.
Contract ticking, pressure rising
Time, though, is running away. Depay’s current deal expires at the end of July, and the countdown has forced the club’s hierarchy into overdrive.
Directors are locked in negotiations with three external commercial partners, trying to piece together a package big enough to fully underwrite a lucrative extension. The numbers are heavy, the market is watching, and every week that passes tightens the screw.
This is not a routine renewal. It is a political and financial test of how far Corinthians are willing to go to keep the former Barcelona forward as the face of their project.
A star stuck on the treatment table
Complicating everything is the one thing nobody can control: his body.
Depay’s season has been fractured by a long spell in the treatment room, sidelined since late March after a complex physical transition period. Just as he inched closer to a return, another bump appeared in the road.
A minor muscular strain in his left leg during training on Monday briefly halted his reintegration. The medical staff, though, are calm. For them, this kind of imbalance is routine for an elite player shaking off months of inactivity, a final bit of turbulence before the flight smooths out.
So while the board wrestle with spreadsheets and sponsorships, Depay is locked into a different battle – ticking off the last rehabilitation milestones, session by session, to be ready when the games start to bite.
Brutal week, big questions
Those games are coming fast.
Corinthians are staring at a punishing, physical run: three matches in seven days that will stretch the squad and expose any weaknesses. It starts with a demanding Brasileirão home test against Atlético-MG on Sunday, May 24, a fixture that rarely allows passengers.
Then comes a decisive Copa Libertadores group-stage clash with Platense, the kind of night that can swing a season, financially and emotionally. After that, a trip to face Grêmio on May 30, another heavyweight duel in a hostile setting.
Across that week, the club’s two timelines run in parallel. On the pitch, a group fighting for domestic momentum and continental survival. Off it, executives scrambling to build the financial framework for a multi-million-pound renewal.
Labyad has already nailed his colours to the mast. The rest of the dressing room has followed. Now the question hangs over Parque São Jorge: when Depay finally steps back onto the pitch, will Corinthians have done enough to ensure he stays there for the long term?
