Flamengo eye Marcos Antônio amid São Paulo’s Lazio debt, claims report | OneFootball

Flamengo doesn’t seem to understand that they won’t get Marcos Antônio. São Paulo has already openly declared, through their football director Rui Costa, that the tricolor’s number 8 is not for sale and will remain at the club.

However, the arrogant club from Rio expects São Paulo won’t be able to come up with the R$ 25 million needed to pay Lazio for the permanent transfer that will take place in the middle of the year for the team’s standout player. Betting on this potential default by Tricolor to the Italians, Fla thinks they have a chance to take advantage of any slip-up.

According to the newspaper O Globo, Flamengo plans to make their move with a big salary offer to Marcos, betting that São Paulo will give up on keeping the player to save money.

Which makes no sense at all, because by buying the midfielder for R$ 25 million, Tricolor will have already made a profit, since Marcos Antônio’s current market value is much higher than that. According to Transfermarkt, the São Paulo player is valued at around 9 million euros, approximately R$ 55 million. The real truth is that Flamengo thinks they’re the only smart ones.

The clubs spoke recently, when São Paulo reiterated their refusal of any offer, and they informally agreed to give preference to the Rio club if Tricolor ever decides to negotiate Marcos, also avoiding constant harassment from their rival.

“Marcos Antônio is a São Paulo player. There is no possibility of Flamengo signing Marcos Antônio unless it’s through talks with São Paulo. That’s something we’ve guaranteed since last year. It’s also important for São Paulo fans to know that even at the end of Marcos Antônio’s loan, there was already interest from other clubs in him. And then, yes, there was a risk, because he wasn’t a São Paulo player yet,” explained director Rui Costa in an interview with UOL.

“São Paulo is as big as Flamengo, just as important as Flamengo in the global football ecosystem. And that’s what I told Boto personally when I met with him, because I felt that was the importance Marcos deserved, and what São Paulo fans deserved,” the tricolor executive added.

Contrary to what part of the Rio press claims, Marcos Antônio has never shown any willingness to leave São Paulo. He’s been a fan of the club since childhood and is living a true dream wearing the tricolor shirt, shining in every match. His celebrations with the fans after the win over Bragantino in the Paulistão are a perfect example of his love for the Morumbi team. And Tricolor has never intended to sell him.

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