Memphis Depay cause a stir on return to the Brazilian league

Corinthians slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Coritiba on Memphis Depay's return to the Brazilian league. The Netherlands international played the second half but couldn't help his side to a result.

Corinthians fans had threatened protests, but they never materialised. Memphis had come in for heavy criticism after releasing a provocative clip on Friday. It shows, among other things, Corinthians' training complex on fire, with the forward watching from his car.

In the song "Don't Panic", Memphis takes aim at the Corinthians board. ''I know a vice-president who is now my enemy. I see how they look at me, but suddenly they call me boss. I see that they are trying to blacken my name, but if you understand the game, you never panic.''

On Saturday morning, Memphis posted an explanation on X. ''I wrote this song sometime in April, about four months ago. As an artist, I use my pen to express my feelings, dreams or nightmares. I love Corinthians very much and everyone who wants the best for this beautiful club.''

After the break, the Dutchman came on with Corinthians already 1-0 down. Footage shows Memphis going down very easily in the box as he tried to win a penalty. The referee didn't point to the spot. Coritiba then doubled their lead with 15 minutes left. Raniele pulled one back in stoppage time, but the visitors had left themselves too much to do.

Next up for Corinthians is a crunch meeting with Neymar's Santos on Sunday. That home game kicks off at 21:00 Dutch time.