James Santos leaves Pyunik two days after his return

Brazilian defender James Santos, who had rejoined Pyunik after spending six months at FC Noah, left the Yerevan club just two days after the official announcement of his transfer. In an interview with the Telegram channel “InsideYAN,” the player revealed that the decision was related to the position of the club’s general director Kim Arakelyan.

"During the first training session, I worked as usual with everyone. But soon the contract was terminated due to an alleged minor inflammation — although I feel no pain," said Santos.
"Yegishe Melikyan truly wanted me to stay — he likes me a lot. The whole problem lies with Kim Arakelyan. He never liked me."

"Melikyan fought for my return. I tried to talk to Kim, but he said there was no need — he is the boss. He promised to buy me tickets back to Brazil. Before the transfer, I had only communicated with Melikyan."

"No one in the team understood what happened. Everyone knows I can help. My future? I don’t know yet — my agent is handling it."

The 30-year-old Santos has played in the Armenian Premier League since 2018. He joined Pyunik in January 2023 and became a key player in their defense. In the 2023/24 season, he helped the team win the league title. Santos made 72 appearances for Pyunik, scoring 8 goals and providing 9 assists.