European star spotted in Flamengo shirt, fans go wild | OneFootball

Dutch Tottenham (ENG) player Xavi Simons bought the Sacred Mantle

That Flamengo breaks boundaries is nothing new. This week brought yet another example, when Dutch player Xavi Simons was spotted buying a Sacred Mantle. The moment was recorded by the foreign store ‘Classic Football Shirts’.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Classic Football Shirts LA (@classicfootballshirtsla)

Xavi appears posing with a 1993 Flamengo shirt, number 7. At the time, Mengão was sponsored by Petrobras and Lubrax and had Umbro as its kit supplier. As a result, Flamengo fans went wild in the comments on the post.

“He chose really well! Flamengo 1993! Beautiful,” wrote one fan. “Come be happy at Gávea, star,” typed another. “Welcome to Flamengo,” joked one Flamengo supporter. “Blame Globo, which used to broadcast the matches in England,” another joked.

SO, WHO IS XAVI SIMONS?

An attacking midfielder, Xavi came through Barcelona’s (ESP) youth academy. Still very young, he moved to PSG (FRA), where he made his professional debut. In the 2022/23 season, the player had the best campaign of his career while playing for PSV (NED), with 22 goals and 11 assists in 48 matches.

His standout performances at PSV led RB Leipzig (GER) to sign Xavi. Now, since 2025/26, the midfielder has been playing for Tottenham. For the club, he has made 41 appearances, scored five goals and provided six assists. At the moment, the player is unavailable, as he is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, an injury that even ruled him out of the World Cup.

SO THEN, WHAT ABOUT FLAMENGO IN 1993?

The year 1993 for Flamengo was marked by the transition of a historic generation (with the farewell of idols such as veteran Júnior) and the debut of Umbro’s classic polo-collar kit, as well as an inconsistent campaign in the Brazilian Championship.

Despite the iconic shirt, Flamengo did not have a good season. After all, the club finished mid-table in the Brasileirão and was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores, losing to São Paulo, who would later go on to become champions.

IN SHORT, THE AUTHOR’S OPINION

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