Boto picks Flamengo’s top 3 rivals in Brazilian football | OneFootball

José Boto mentioned Fluminense, Palmeiras, and Cruzeiro as Flamengo's rivals in 2026

The Flamengo is the current champion of the Brasileirão and the Copa Libertadores, in addition to having the best squad in the Americas. In this way, Mengo has become the main club to beat in national football. Because of this, José Boto named Mengão's competitors.

— I think this year it will be everyone, everyone will want to beat Flamengo, and that's natural, I'm not saying this arrogantly. Flamengo had an extraordinary season and, this year, all the players are motivated to play against Flamengo — José Boto began.

— It will be a tougher year than last year. But I think Palmeiras, Cruzeiro, even though they also didn’t start well, I really liked Fluminense, I think the fight will be among them. It will be like Brazilian football always is, a battle among six or seven clubs — he concluded, in an interview with ‘GE’.

HOW ARE THE RIVALS MENTIONED BY BOTO DOING?

Palmeiras was the runner-up to Flamengo in the Brazilian Championship and the Copa Libertadores. Cruzeiro finished in third place in the Brasileirão. Finally, Fluminense played in the state championship final against the Most Beloved in 2025.

It’s worth mentioning that these three clubs, along with Flamengo, are the ones that have been most active in the transfer market so far. That’s because Palmeiras signed players like Marlon Freitas. Cruzeiro signed Gerson, while Fluminense bought players such as Guilherme Arana and Savarino.

WHEN DOES FLAMENGO PLAY?

With that in mind, looking ahead to the rest of the season, Flamengo will take the field this Wednesday (04). The Most Beloved faces Internacional at 7:00 p.m. (Brasília time) at Maracanã, for the second round of the Brazilian Championship.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.