Former Manchester City forward, Jo has agreed to a three-year deal with Brazilian Serie A champions Corinthians. The former Brazilian international agreed to the terms of the deal after passing a medical on Monday. Jo was at the club’s training ground in Sao Paulo to seal the deal.

Corinthians – six-time Brazilian champions – signed Jo on a free transfer deal after the player exited Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning during the summer. Jo used to be with United Arab Emirates outfit Al-Shabab but moved to China in February. While in China, Jo netted 24 goals for Jiangsu Suning.

There were speculations that the player was keen on returning to his boyhood club before now. Jo started his career at Corinthians before he moved to Russia to play from CSKA Moscow over a decade ago.

As a Brazilian international, he scored five goals in 20 games. Recently, he admitted that he drifted apart from old Brazilian friends as he focused solely on his family and football.

“We drifted apart. We haven’t spoken for a long time,” Jo said when asked about his relationship with two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Award winner, Ronaldinho.

“Some friends are no longer in touch because of the fact that I have changed my lifestyle. Alcohol leads to self-destruction,” he added.

Ronaldinho and Jo used to be close, enjoying Belo Horizonte nightlife when they played together at Atletico Mineiro from 2012 to 2014. They won the Copa Libertadores together in 2013. Jo revealed that one low point in his life was when he drank heavily because of a goal drought he was facing for club and country.

“After the World Cup [2014] I returned to Atletico and that was the start of a really bad phase. I wasn’t playing well and I separated from my wife. I was going nowhere and making a lot of mistakes. Now I’ve found peace in my life,” Jo said.