Coluna do Fla
·29. Juli 2025
Emerson Royal laughs off Rodinei question, warns: "Don't start"

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·29. Juli 2025
The right-back Emerson Royal has been giving a show of charisma since he arrived at Flamengo. On Tuesday (29), for example, the athlete drew laughter at the Flamengo press conference when he responded to a supposed similarity with Rodinei, from Olympiacos (GRE).
“They're calling you Rodinei's doppelganger, man”, joked a journalist. “Ah, no... dude, don't start with that Rodinei talk, okay?”, Royal replied with a smile on his face. “Who's more handsome?”, asked another. “Me!?”, the athlete affirmed with a tone of mockery. “But in style, you're losing to him”, they pointed out. “Look at my Instagram to see”, the number 22 jersey retorted, causing a collective laugh.
See dialogue:
At ease in the environment, the number 22 jersey talked about Wesley, Maracanã, Filipe Luís, the Brazilian national team, and much more. The player was at Milan (ITA) and Rubro-Negro paid nine million euros (R$ 58 million) to have him on the squad.
Besides the physical resemblance pointed out by fans on social media, it's worth noting that both are right-backs. Curiously, the new signing chose the number 22 jersey, which once belonged to Rodinei when he still played for Flamengo.
– Everyone has a favorite team when they're young, and since I'm from São Paulo, I didn't support Flamengo. When I felt the warmth of the crowd, the stadium, and being on the side of Flamengo now, I said: “how did I not know this? How did I never support Flamengo?”, wondered the right-back.
The new signing stated that he wants to play as soon as possible, but acknowledges he still needs time to be 100% available. Therefore, Emerson Royal won't be able to help Flamengo this Thursday (31), against Atlético-MG, in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil, at Maracanã.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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