Brazil icon in talks for Colchester United takeover

Martin Macdonald

• 26 Jan 2026 12:01 CST
• 3 min read

Nieuws

In one of the more surprising news stories of the day, Alexandre Pato is reportedly in talks to purchase Colchester United.

The Brazilian was spotted sitting next to current owner Robbie Cowling during Colchester's League Two victory against Fleetwood on Saturday afternoon.

After two decades at the helm, Cowling is seeking a buyer to take the club forward.

"I’ve said this before, I want my last decision at the club to be my absolute best decision and that’s going to be who I hand it on to," he said of finding a new owner.

"I think it’s going to take a bit of time; we’ve got to make sure we find the right people that deserve to take on this football club."

A proposed takeover by the US-based Lightwell Sports Group fell through last summer but there is reportedly still interest from potential new owners from Europe, the United Kingdom and the Middle East, as well as the United States.

The Daily Gazette reports that Pato has held "provisional talks" with Cowling about investing in Colchester and that is why he was present at Saturday's game.

At this stage, it is unclear whether Pato's investment will come as a new owner or as a minority shareholder.

Once considered one of the best wonderkids in world football, Pato started his career at Internacional before a high-profile move to Milan where he was considered the heir apparent to his compatriot, Kaka.

He didn't hit the heights that were perhaps expected him and he ended up having a nomadic career that included spells at Corinthians, São Paulo, Chelsea, Villarreal, Tianjin Tianhai, Orlando City and Sao Paulo on two more occasions.

He retired in 2023.

Pato regrets failed Chelsea move

Pato previously admitted that he regrets moving to Chelsea in 2016.

In an interview with The Players' Tribune, Pato said: "You know why I played so much better at São Paulo? They looked after me properly. There I just had to play. But when Chelsea called me, I was still dreaming of Europe. Unfortunately, I paid the price again for being overprotected.

"I still didn’t get it. I thought that Chelsea would loan me for six months and then I’d sign for three years. I didn’t realise that they could say no after the loan. Had I known? I would have gone elsewhere. It was a pity, because I was training really well, and the coach only played me twice. I never understood why."

Despite scoring on his Chelsea debut in a 4-0 rout away at Villa Park, Pato made just one more appearance during his spell at the club - a start against Swansea a week after his goal against Aston Villa.

At the time, Diego Costa was Chelsea's main man through the middle, with Guus Hiddink favouring the former Atletico Madrid star over Pato. Furthermore, the likes of Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao were also competing with Pato for minutes on the pitch.

After Chelsea decided against signing Pato on a permanent deal, he returned to Corinthians before joining Villarreal a month later.

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