Zakaria Labyad's Message to Corinthians: Keep Memphis Depay
Zakaria Labyad left Montevideo with more than just a crucial away goal. He left a message.
The Moroccan midfielder hauled his side level against Penarol with a vital continental equaliser, then cupped his fingers to his ears in the style of Memphis Depay. It was not a random homage. It was a pointed reminder, aimed squarely at the boardroom thousands of miles away in Sao Paulo.
As soon as the final whistle went, Labyad switched from playmaker to campaigner. Using his post-match interview, he pressed Corinthians’ hierarchy on the future of the Dutch star whose contract is running out fast.
Speaking to ESPN, Labyad made the dressing room’s stance crystal clear. The celebration was for Memphis. The message was for the club.
“Yes, of course [the celebration was a tribute to Memphis],” he said, before spelling out exactly what the squad wants: the club must “take the next step” to keep Depay. The players have seen the transformation first-hand – in the dressing room, on the pitch, and in the stands.
Depay arrived in South America as a marquee name and has delivered like one. Three trophies. A relegation fight turned into survival. Standards raised, culture shifted, a squad dragged up to his level. For a club that flirted with disaster, his impact has been nothing short of structural.
“He did a great job for the team,” Labyad stressed. For the players, for the club, the wish is simple: they want him to stay at Corinthians.
That desire now collides with the calendar. Depay’s current deal runs only until the end of July. Every week that ticks by tightens the pressure on the board. Corporate directors are locked in hurried talks with three external commercial partners, trying to build a financial package big enough to carry a new, lucrative extension without breaking the club’s balance sheet.
Off the pitch, it is a race against time and spreadsheets. On it, Depay has been fighting a different clock.
His season has been badly interrupted by injury, the forward stuck in the treatment room since late March during a complicated physical transition period. Just as his return edged closer, another bump appeared in the road: a minor muscular strain in his left leg during training on Monday.
The medical staff are calm. For them, this is part of the normal turbulence that comes with an elite player ramping back up after a long spell out. No alarms, no drastic change of plan. But it is still another reminder that the window to get him fully firing again this season is not endless.
Corinthians could hardly have picked a tougher moment to manage both a contract saga and a rehabilitation schedule. The calendar is brutal.
Upcoming Matches
- A demanding Brasileirao home test against Atletico-MG on Sunday, May 24, opens a punishing week.
- Then comes a decisive Copa Libertadores group-stage clash with Platense, a game that will shape their continental path.
- After that, a trip to face Gremio on May 30, where legs will be heavy and margins thin.
This is exactly the kind of stretch where a fit, confident Memphis Depay usually bends games to his will. Instead, while directors haggle over commercial backing and legal clauses, the Dutchman’s world is smaller: gym sessions, medical check-ups, incremental targets. Final rehabilitation milestones stand between him and a return that could tilt Corinthians’ domestic campaign.
In Montevideo, Labyad’s goal earned a draw. His celebration and his words carried a different weight. The squad has spoken publicly. The fans know where they stand. The player is working to be ready.
Now the question hangs over Parque São Jorge: will the club move quickly enough to ensure that when Memphis Depay finally steps back onto the pitch, it is not for the last time in a Corinthians shirt?
