Flamengo earn windfall from Richard Ríos loan to Al-Ittihad | OneFootball

Al-Ittihad have signed Richard Ríos on loan from Benfica. The club said the Colombian joins until the end of 2026/27 with no option to buy.

The agreement is worth three million euros as a loan fee, with Al-Ittihad covering the 26-year-old’s full salary. Benfica therefore reduces its costs for the player, who arrived last year.

FIFA’s solidarity mechanism awards Flamengo a share of the deal, worth 120,000 euros, about R$ 712.6 thousand at current rates. It is another income stream tied to a former academy player.

Ríos joined Flamengo in 2020 at 20 and featured for the under-20s before seeking first-team chances. Paulo Sousa cut him from the senior squad in 2022, after which he moved to Guarani.

In total he made 46 youth appearances and seven for the first team. Palmeiras bought his rights in 2023, and the midfielder soon drew attention from Europe.

Benfica then paid 30 million euros fixed, around R$ 194 million at the time. Palmeiras received 70%, about R$ 135.8 million, with the remainder split between Benfica, Guarani and Flamengo at 10%, 13.4% and 6.6% respectively.

The latest move to Saudi Arabia brings Flamengo another bonus despite no direct link to the player. The club has also benefited from youth sales such as João Gomes, whose move from Wolves to Aston Villa generated around R$ 32.7 million.

Flamengo face Remo in the Brasileirão on Sunday 06, kick-off 16:00 Brasília time, at Mangueirão in Belém.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”