Bruno Caboclo, the center of the Brazilian national team, will not join the Italian club Venezia, despite signing a contract with them this summer, citing “personal reasons.”
Venezia has officially announced that Bruno Caboclo’s agency informed them of the player’s refusal to join the Italian club.
Bruno Caboclo has yet to join Reyer Venice’s training camp. The Brazilian national team member has not arrived in Italy, causing concern within the Italian side.
At first, Caboclo reportedly missed his scheduled flight to Europe. However, as time passed, it became clear that he had no intention of playing for Venezia.
Federico Casarin, the president of Venezia, expressed uncertainty about Caboclo’s status, mentioning rumors that he might join an Israeli team or is expected to join Partizan.
“We have taken formal legal steps by communicating through our lawyers with all basketball leagues. We strongly discourage any club from considering his services, as Caboclo remains under contract with our organization” – he told Il Corriere del Veneto.
However, the case reached a new climax after Venezia announced that the player had already informed the club that he refuses to join their ranks. According to the official statement of the Italian team, Caboclo’s representatives cited “personal reasons” for his failure to appear in Venezia.
“This decision, completely unexpected and received with amazement and dismay by the organization, constitutes a very serious violation of the agreement between the parties, which is still in full force and obliges Bruno Caboclo to carry out his professional basketball activity for the 2023/2024 Season exclusively for the benefit of Umana Reyer Venezia and for no other club in any League and/or Federation” – the statement said.
Venezia also claims to have suffered “significant damage” and emphasizes their right to initiate legal proceedings against the player to better protect their rights and interests.
Last June, Caboclo signed a one-year contract worth 800,000 euros net with Venezia. During the FIBA World Cup, he informed Venezia that he had changed agents, switching from Igor Crespo to Hazan Sports Management.
According to reports in Israeli media on Monday, the Brazilian basketball player is ready to participate in the American tour with Maccabi Ra’anana, a team that will play friendly matches against the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. It seems that Caboclo’s intention is to use this opportunity to secure an NBA contract.
However, the contract he signed with Venezia lacks a release clause, which means he cannot participate in any friendly matches without the approval of his current team.
The 27-year-old recently played for the Brazilian national team at the FIBA World Cup, averaging 16.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.