Boto's response to why Flamengo's Arrascaeta didn't go to Europe

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Coluna do Fla

·22 July 2026

Boto's response to why Flamengo's Arrascaeta didn't go to Europe

Boto puts Flamengo above Crystal Palace (ENG) while explaining why Arrascaeta never moved to Europe

Arrascaeta has been one of the standout players in Brazilian and South American football for several seasons. However, despite his strong performances, the player has never moved to Europe. With that in mind, José Boto placed Flamengo above Crystal Palace (ENG) while trying to explain why the player never went to the ‘Old Continent’.

– That’s a question I ask myself many times, and I also bear that responsibility, since I worked at European clubs, for not having recognized Arrascaeta’s value. He is one of the greatest players at finding space that I have ever seen. Maybe he never had much media attention, maybe it was his age. In European football, players who are 24 or 25 years old are no longer worth that many millions –, he said, before concluding: – It’s somewhat inexplicable that a player with his class has not played in Europe. He has had some opportunities, but it is not easy, with all due respect to Crystal Palace, to make a fair swap like that against Flamengo. At his physical peak, Arrascaeta would play for the five biggest clubs in Europe –, José Boto concluded in an interview with ‘ESPN’.

Throughout his career, Arrascaeta has only played for three teams, all of them in South American football. The midfielder began his journey at Defensor (URU) and then moved to Cruzeiro in 2015. Finally, in 2019, the player arrived at Flamengo, where he began writing a beautiful story with the Rubro-Negro.

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WHAT HAS ARRASCAETA’S JOURNEY AT FLAMENGO BEEN LIKE?

Since arriving at Flamengo, Arrascaeta has been piling up titles and records in the red-and-black shirt. Among his most important achievements are two Copa Libertadores titles, two Copa do Brasil titles, and three Brazilian league titles.

This season, Arrascaeta achieved yet another milestone while playing for Flamengo. That is because, in the middle of this year, Mengão’s No. 10 was called up to represent Uruguay in his second World Cup.

WHAT IS ARRASCAETA’S CURRENT SITUATION AT FLAMENGO?

After returning from the World Cup, Arrascaeta continued his recovery from the muscle injury suffered during Uruguay training. Now recovered from the injury, the Uruguayan is training normally with his teammates and, as a result, traveled with the squad for the clash against Chapecoense.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO’S NEXT MATCH?

With Arrascaeta available, Flamengo face action this Wednesday (22) upon their return to the Brasileirão. In short, the ball starts rolling at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Arena Condá, in Chapecó. As usual, Coluna do Fla TV will cover the match details on YouTube, as well as on its website and social media. Finally, Rede Globo (free-to-air TV) and Premiere (pay-per-view) will broadcast the match.

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