Portsmouth must overcome another major obstacle if they want to sign World Cup-bound Gustavo Caballero
Any efforts Pompey make to sign former loanee Gustavo Caballero on a permanent deal from Santos could prove complicated
Pompey will have to overcome another important hurdle if they want to bring Gustavo Caballero back to Fratton Park.
Last month head coach John Mousinho revealed the Blues were keen to make the Paraguayan winger’s south coast stay permanent following a largely impressive three-month stint while on loan from Brazilian side Santos.
However, last week it emerged that Pompey had missed the deadline to activate their initial agreement with Santos, allowing other clubs to enter the race for the former Nacional forward’s signature.
That will have muddied the waters, with the 24-year-old’s agent, Enzo Prono, revealing talks have since been held with other Championship clubs and teams in Scotland about his client.
Now another obstacle has emerged which has the potential to complicate matters even further.
On Monday, Paraguayan Football Association representative and Nacional presisdent Enrique Sánchez said Caballero’s former club in his home country still held a percentage of his ‘economic rights’.
That means they’ll also have to be part of any transfer negotiations Pompey undertake to bring the player back to Fratton Park on a permanent basis and will want a chunk of any money Santos accept for the player.
Gustavo Caballero, Santos, Nacional and their ‘economic rights’
Caballero’s situation arose as he’s being tipped to make the Paraguayan squad for next month’s World Cup - just weeks after making his senior international debut for Gustavo Alfaro’s side durng the March international break.
Sánchez reiterated the belief the player wants to return to England. But he also said Caballero was also enjoying being back at Nacional, where he currenly training ahead of the World Cup.
‘We have a small percentage on Gustavo Caballero's economic rights,’ Sánchez told Urbana Sports.
‘He wants to play in English football and now he's training here (at Nacional) with the guys reminiscing about good times.’
Caballero’s impact at Pompey
Caballero featured 12 times for Pompey over the second half of the 2025-26 season, scoring once, as he helped the Blues retain their Championship status.
A groin injury suffered against Middlesbrough on April 11 prevented the Fratton favourite from adding to that tally, ruling him out for Pompey’s last five games of the season.
Brazilian media outlet Globo.com reported in February that the Blues paid Santos one million Brazilian Reais (£148,000) to take Caballero on loan on the final day of the January transfer window.
They also claim that Santos hold 50 percent of the player’s rights, after they signed him on a four-year deal from Nacional in July 2025.
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