SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar has retired from soccer five months after being admitted to the hospital with a heart issue, Brazilian club Sao Paulo said on Saturday.
Sao Paulo said the 34-year-old Oscar finalized the termination of his contract with the team this week. The deal was set to run until the end of 2027.
Oscar hasn’t played for Sao Paulo since experiencing vasovagal syncope — a common cause in fainting after a sudden drop in blood pressure or heart rate — in November, requiring surgery. He collapsed during preseason testing and was reportedly unconscious for about two minutes. Sao Paulo said at the time he “presented a complication with cardiac changes.”
Oscar returned to his boyhood club on a free transfer late in 2024 after a long spell in China.
“I wanted to do more for São Paulo, I wanted to play more,” Oscar said in a club statement. “I think I had both the footballing ability and the age to play more, but unfortunately this happened. Now I’m going to retire and continue supporting São Paulo, continue my life as a fan."
Oscar won one Europa League title and two Premier League trophies with Chelsea, which he joined in 2012.
He moved to Shanghai in the middle of Chelsea’s 2016-17 season for a transfer fee reported to be $73 million. He won three Super League titles in China and became a fan favorite in Asia.
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FILE - Chelsea's Oscar controls the ball during the Champions League group G soccer match between Chelsea and Maccabi Tel-Aviv at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Roy was fired as coach of the New York Islanders on Sunday, another late-season change in the NHL that comes with a team in the middle of a spring tailspin that has put their playoff chances in jeopardy.
First-year general manager Mathieu Darche announced the abrupt decision to part ways with Roy and name Peter DeBoer his replacement with four games left in the season. The Islanders have lost four in a row and seven of their past 10 games, going from comfortably in a playoff spot to needing help down the stretch in a competitive Eastern Conference race.
Roy is the second NHL coach fired over the past eight days. The Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella on an interim basis a week ago.
DeBoer is taking the job full-time, fresh off serving as an assistant on Canada's staff at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The 57-year-old has taken two teams to the Stanley Cup Final and most recently coached the Dallas Stars to three consecutive trips to the Western Conference final before being fired last year following their latest exit.
Roy, a Hall of Fame goaltender, was hired by former GM Lou Lamoriello in January 2024 as a midseason replacement for fired coach Lane Lambert. Sparked by his arrival, the team made the playoffs that year and lost in the first round to Carolina. Regression has followed since.
Parting ways with Roy comes at crucial point for the organization. Rookie of the year front-runner Matthew Schaefer has been a revelation in his first NHL season at the age of 18, and several other top prospects are on their way.
Roy was in his second job running a team in the league, following a three-year tenure with Colorado from 2013-16 that included winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year and abruptly resigning in the middle of the summer.
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FILE - Dallas Stars head coach Peter DeBoer looks on during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
FILE - New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy speaks to members of the media before an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File)
