Danilo named by Botafogo, close to being barred from another side | OneFootball

Flamengo and Palmeiras dreamed of signing Danilo Santos

Neither Palmeiras nor Flamengo. In Brazil, at least until the end of the Brazilian Championship, Danilo Santos will only be able to play for Botafogo if he takes the field this Thursday (23) against Vitória. The player starts on the bench and, if he plays, it will be his 13th match for the General Severiano team in the competition. Therefore, according to the rules, the defensive midfielder will not be able to play for another team.

Danilo did attract interest from Flamengo, but the midfielder’s desire to go to Europe or return to Palmeiras left Mengão out of the running. With that, the São Paulo club pushed hard to complete the deal and even offered 28 million euros (R$ 160 million at the current exchange rate), including a fixed fee and variables to be paid in installments over three years. However, Botafogo turned it down.

Even amid a serious financial crisis, Botafogo preferred not to sell Danilo, largely because of the influence of Gabriel de Alba, CEO of GDA Luma, the company expected to take over the rival’s SAF. The businessman believes a Brazilian rival cannot be strengthened.

WHAT OFFER DID BOTAFOGO ACCEPT?

If Flamengo and Palmeiras were left with no chance of signing Danilo, Zenit (RUS) did have hopes of acquiring the midfielder. Botafogo accepted the Russian club’s offer, but the player did not want to play in the country, which is under sanctions and cannot take part in European competitions.

WHAT TIME IS BOTAFOGO’S MATCH?

With Danilo available, Botafogo face Vitória starting at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time), in a postponed match from the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship. Both teams have 25 points, but the Rio side sit in tenth place on tiebreakers. The visitors are in 12th.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION ON DANILO?

— Botafogo expected Danilo to increase in value and become a European target with the World Cup. However, the midfielder barely played for Carlo Ancelotti’s team. As a result, only Zenit wanted the player, and the player did not want to go to Russia — began Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist at Coluna do Fla.

— I see Danilo as a great player, but at those figures, I think he is expensive and, to some extent, it is a good thing that Flamengo are out of the race. For example: Rubro-Negro are signing Almada for practically the same amounts. One was a starter for the current World Cup runner-up and is an attacking midfielder, a more highly valued position on the market. The other was a backup for the Brazilian national team, which ended up being one of the disappointments of the World Cup — Pedro added.

UPDATE

Danilo came on in the second half of Botafogo 0x0 Vitória and, as a result, has now made 13 appearances for the rival in the Brasileirão. Therefore, he cannot play in the competition for another club in 2026.

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