Marco Tulio played alongside Robinho and Fred at Atletico Mineiro, and was lured to Portugal by powerhouse Sporting CP. Now the Brazilian attacker has joined Central Coast Mariners in the A-League Men.
Tulio becomes Central Coast’s final visa signing of the transfer window, with the 24-year-old following Nigerian defender Kelechi John and Ghanaian forward Paul Ayongo to Gosford.
After emerging from boyhood club Mineiro, where he was team-mates with former Newcastle Jets star Daniel Penha and ex-Brazil and Real Madrid star Robinho, Tulio was lured to Lisbon by Portuguese giants Sporting.
Tulio – who had a €60million release clause at the former home of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Melbourne Victory marquee Nani – scored eight goals across 35 matches for Sporting during his time with the club’s Under-23 team and B side.
After loan stints via KSV Roeselare (Belgium) and CSA (Brazil), Tulio will make the move to Nick Montgomery’s youthful and exciting Mariners, teaming up with new Socceroos Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings.
“We are delighted. Obviously, we work hard on our recruitment and Marco is a player that we identified a long time ago,” Mariners head coach Montgomery said.
“We worked hard and with the help of his agent we managed to release him from his contract at Sporting. He is definitely going to add attacking power to our front line.”
After a goal in 17 games for Roeselare in Belgium, Tulio bagged 12 goals across two seasons on loan at CSA in Brazil’s Serie B.
At international level, Tulio was part of the Brazil team that won the 2015 South American Under-17 Championship.
Montgomery added: “Look at Beni Nkololo’s impact last season and all of the visa boys that have come in this year. They are all a young age, and we are bringing them in to hopefully develop them so that they can reach their full potential.
“They are exciting talents whose future is at the very top level.”
The Mariners will kick-off their 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League season against Newcastle Jets in the F3 Derby at Central Coast Stadium on October 8.
“I was excited by the project that was proposed, and the technical team, Nick, Sergio and all of the coaches,” Tulio said.
“I am coming into a team that is almost finished their pre-season so I am ready to join and participate with the team as soon as I can. I am excited to be here and ready to contribute to the team this season.”
