Recently, Shandong Taishan team's soulful foreign aid Moises took a picture of the same frame with three teammates on social media platforms and lamented, "The final chapter is coming, and the time spent together is about to come to an end." This is undoubtedly a hint of his departure from the team, triggering the grief and regret of many Shandong fans. The importance of Moises to the Taishan team cannot be overstated, especially in the AFC Cup duel with Shenhua, his absence directly affects the team's performance. Prior to that, in the crucial matchup between Taishan and Shanghai Hong Kong, a serious foul by Moisés earned him a red card.
The CFA's extra punishment for Moises made him miss the F.A.C. Cup final against Shenhua. Moises' linking role and precise passing in front of goal was crucial for Taishan, and his absence put the team in a difficult situation on the offensive end, ultimately losing 0-1 to Shenhua and missing out on the 2023 F.A.C. Cup title. All this made Shandong fans deeply appreciate the great impact Moises had on the team.
But why is it so hard for Shandong fans to let go of this? As we all know, Moises is an indispensable player for Taishan, yet the team chose not to renew his contract. Although Moises' performance this season has declined compared to last season, his strengths and stats are still far superior to those of Pato, who Cui Kangxi brought in from the Indonesian league. Pato joined the Taishan squad as the Indonesian Golden Boot, but his performances have been mediocre.
In Taishan's offense system, Pato seems to be insignificant and rarely plays a key role in the game. If Luneng fans were to choose between Pato and Moises, they would definitely choose the latter. Moises has been a steady output of goals and assists for Taishan almost every season since he joined the team, and in the 2021 season he helped the team win the double of the Chinese Super League and the AFC Cup, which is a great credit to his contribution to the team. So why did Taishan boss Choi Kang-hee prefer to keep the mediocre Pato and give up on this core player? Perhaps there are two reasons.
First of all, Moises is already relatively old, born in 1988, he is 35 years old this year and has passed his peak. Moyses is not in line with Taishan's goal of replacing the old with the new, and has the problem of being too sticky and shooting too much in the offense. Secondly, Moises' annual salary is quite high. He joined the Taishan team in the era of Chinese Super League's golden dollar soccer, and his annual salary is quite high. Taishan believed that by sending Moises away, they could save salary space and use it to bring in two high-level foreign players. Therefore, Taishan decided to insist on releasing Moises. Luneng fans are looking forward to seeing Moises show the highest level of his career again next season, no matter where he is.
