'I cost Tottenham £8m but I'm coming out of retirement to play for non-league team in FA Cup'

Ex- star could not resist the call of returning to football after penning a shock deal with Harborough Town.

The former international, now 35, retired in 2023 but had not actually played since April 2022 during a shirt spell with Portuguese minnows B SAD. But the midfielder has returned to football with a bizarre move.

Sandro has put pen to paper on a one-match deal with non-league outfit Harborough Town. The 35-year-old has joined the seventh-tier outfit to play in their

Harborough have reached the second round of the competition for the first time in their history. They have already beaten Darlaston Town, Stourbridge, Leamington and Bury, while they also beat Tonbridge Angels 4-1 in the first round.

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And explaining his move, Sandro admits he could not resist getting back on the pitch. Speaking with , he said: "I was in the stadium talking to the [Harborough management] and they said 'Sandro, can you play for my team' and I said 'yes why not.

"This was a real competition, the , and they said, 'Sandro come down, we'll pay you, you play with us' and I said 'no forget it, it's not about the money, I'll go there just to enjoy with you guys and have fun'."

He added: "This is just for a game, I don't have a contract with them, it's just for me to go there and enjoy football because I miss it. What an opportunity for me to go there and enjoy football again for one last match, so I said 'why not?'"

Sandro played 110 games for Tottenham, earning 17 Brazil caps in that time. He also represented , Genoa and Udinese.

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And while he is turning his attention to coaching, he is still relishing the chance to don his boots once more. "I love football because of this things,” Sandro said.

“I've finished by UEFA B [coaching licence] and I thought it would be amazing for me to go there and feel the changing room again and the players and be part of football again."

Meanwhile, Harborough Town boss Mitch Austin has hailed the club’s move for the former Premier League star. He said: “What an unbelievable signing for the club, I really cannot express how I am feeling.

"I had a chance conversation with Sandro a couple of weeks ago and we got talking about football, told him about Harborough Town FC and the journey we are on and he has been messaging me ever since to sign on, totally unbelievable and gobsmacked is how I would describe this signing.

“These sort of signings don’t happen every day but when you get a chance to sign an ex-professional footballer who has played at the highest level in the Premier League and internationally with Brazil, you just cannot turn it down.”

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