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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Ex-Rangers ace Alfredo Morelos suffers relegation with Santos

Former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has suffered relegation with Santos.

Last night, Pele's former club were relegated from the Brazilian top flight for the first time in their history.

Morelos only joined the South American giants in September. He signed a two-year deal around three months after departing Ibrox on a free transfer. 

However, it looks as though his short spell at the club will come to an end, as Santos ended the season in relegation.

When Morelos joined, Santos were in the midst of a relegation battle. It was hoped the Colombian's eye for goal would help them climb to safety. 

At the time, technical director Alexandre Gallo, hailed his signing. He said: "We are very happy (with Morelos). If he performs the way he has been performing recently, it will be a very important future dividend for the club."

However, after struggling with injuries, the 27-year-old was mainly an unused substitute in the majority of his games. He made just three appearances for Santos, with only one of those coming from the start. He failed to score.

Santos' fate was last night sealed as they battled it out with Vasco da Gama and Bahia on the final day in a bid to avoid the dreaded drop.

Fortaleza consigned Santos to the Brazilian Serie B next season after scoring in injury time to inflict another home defeat on the team that Neymar played for before joining Barcelona.

Fans were disgusted by what unfolded in front of their eyes, as their team went down for the first time in their 111-year history. They tried to invade the pitch, amid other protests happening outside the stadium post-match.

Morelos - who was on the bench last night - will now almost certainly need to look for another new club. 

It emerged weeks ago that the ex-Rangers man had a relegation release clause in his contract.

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