OFFICIAL: Oscar Retires

Former Chelsea midfielder and Brazilian national team player Oscar has officially retired, just five months after being hospitalized due to heart issues.

São Paulo club announced that midfielder Oscar has finalized the termination of his contract with the team this week, even though the original agreement was valid until the end of 2027.

Oscar has not played for São Paulo since experiencing a fainting episode due to vasovagal syncope in November last year. This is a common cause of fainting when blood pressure or heart rate suddenly drops. The incident forced the star born in 1991 to undergo surgery after collapsing during a preseason check-up and was reportedly unconscious for about two minutes.

At that time, São Paulo announced that he had complications related to changes in his heart.

Sharing on social media, Oscar stated: “My heart stopped beating for about two and a half minutes; it was truly a shock. Now I can speak about this more calmly; before, I was very emotional. I was undergoing a check-up and suddenly fainted, my blood pressure dropped, and my heart stopped. Afterwards, they had to perform CPR for over two minutes. I only remember fainting; beyond that, I don’t remember anything.

People often say that when near death, you leave your body. I also had that feeling. While unconscious, I was in a very beautiful dream. Everything happened very quickly; I saw my son saying: ‘Dad, come back!’”.

According to ESPN, Oscar agreed to forfeit part of his remaining salary under the contract (valid until December 31, 2027) to end his relationship with São Paulo amicably.

During his time playing for the club, he scored two goals and provided five assists in 21 matches.

Oscar added: “It’s difficult; I wanted to contribute more to São Paulo. I believe I still have the ability and age to continue playing. But unfortunately, this happened, and now I have to retire. From now on, I will continue my life as a fan.”

São Paulo was also Oscar’s youth club. Later, he moved to Internacional before joining Chelsea for a fee of £25 million in 2012, where he won two Premier League titles and one Europa League.

Oscar also spent eight seasons playing for Shanghai Port in China before returning to his first club. He made a total of 48 appearances for the Brazilian national team, contributing 12 goals.