Brazil's Ganso Says Goodbye to Santos

Sometimes April Fools' Day jokes simply aren't funny. That must be the sentiment of every fan of Brazilian club Santos following a heartrending Twitter update from 22-year-old midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso.

The Santos' number 10 announced that he was leaving the club via his Twitter account on Sunday. From @samsungphganso:

"

Today I say goodbye to Santos' fans with a broken heart. Thank you for all! Good Sunday, everyone!

"

The heart palpitations of Santos supporters were eased just five minutes later when Ganso revealed the prank with his next update. From @samsungphganso:

"

April Fools' Day! A blessed day to you with a great victory from Santos later today !!!

"

The player's Twitter joke would have hit a sore point for Santos fans. Ganso has been linked in recent months with both Inter and AC Milan, as well as a rumored £15-million offer from Tottenham.

Local supporters are understandably touchy about transfer talk surrounding their young stars. In addition to Ganso, the Brazilian side features Barcelona-, Real Madrid-, and Chelsea-target Neymar.

Transfer speculation reached such a fever pitch around the players that it was cited as the cause of a rumored rift between the two players. The February controversy saw Ganso declare his intention to remain at Santos in the process of denying the story (from goal.com):

"

To make everyone comfortable, especially the Santos supporters who think I will go, in contrast to the reports, I'm very focused and very clear on what I want.

I'm now at Santos, I'm performing very well, honoring the No. 10 shirt as I always have and that makes me more comfortable to return to the Selecao as well.

"

Ganso broke into the Santos first team in 2008 and has since made more than 130 appearances for the club, winning two state championships as well as the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

He has won eight caps for Brazil and in March was included in head coach Mano Menezes' preliminary Olympic roster.