Alfredo Morelos could cry freedom again as Rangers hero’s Santos career suffers stuttering start

Former Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos can leave Santos for FREE should the Brazilian giants get relegated for the first time in their history.

His new club gave themselves hope in their battle against the drop in their latest game, but Morelos was an unused sub as fans all questioned the decision to leave El Bufalo in cold storage afterwards. The Colombian hitman signed for Pele's former club earlier this month, who are one of only three teams in Brazil who have never been relegated along with Flamengo and Sao Paulo.

Despite the vital win on Monday against Bahia thanks to a winner deep in injury time from Julio Firch, they remain in one of the four relegation spots. They are a point from safety after the latest three points, although relegation rivals Goias have a game in hand and sit above them in 16th spot. The three clubs behind them – Vasco de Gama, America-MG and Coritiba – have all played two fewer games.

However, Morelos was only a sub and not required even though Santos were chasing the game. Their interim coaching staff, after Santos sacked manager Diego Aguerre at the weekend, opted to send on fellow striker Firch instead and he repaid their faith with the winning goal.

It was revealed in South America that Morelos' contract includes a clause that in the event of Santos being relegated for the first time in their 111-year history, the 27-year-old could leave for free. He made his debut for Santos last week in their defeat to Cruzeiro as a sub and his 13 minute cameo appearance was the first time he's been on a pitch for over three months since he said his farewells to Rangers fans in a match at Ibrox against Hearts.