Brazilian goalkeeper and skipper Valdir Dias Paes has moved on after ten seasons and 212 starts for Grilled, 70 of them as captain, which puts him sixth on the all-time list. Additionally, Valdir kept 87 clean sheets from those appearances, significantly more than any other goalkeeper in Grilled history.

Valdir moved to Romanian Division Six club Fc I.M.C for S$7.14 million as a replacement for its 22 year-old custodian Silviu-Cătălin Badea, traded for S$7.7 million just days ago. This meant that Grilled recouped most of the S$8.6 million originally spent for Valdir, all of which has been earmarked towards a new Number One. Real Dominican Power of the Dominician Third Division was the other possible destination.

While Valdir refused to officially comment on the move, the teammates closer to him suggested that the 34 year-old had been looking to stay, but was frustrated by the refusal of management to guarantee him a five-season long player-coach contract. Head coach Han Lik-Tsun appeared to confirm that.

"We were unaware that Valdir had coaching ambitions, but were willing to discuss the matter when he first brought it up at the beginning of the season. However, we could not come to a resolution, and Valdir felt it best to pursue his ambitions in this regard elsewhere."

Some players commented that Valdir's departure had left a leadership vacuum in the squad, even as his rather abrupt style may not be missed. After a short meeting, 28 year-old Moldovan playmaker Gleb Dorogan agreed to be acting captain, with 38 year-old elder statesman Quah Han Kok remaining as vice-captain. Grilled will now focus their search on a successor.

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