Flamengo land fee from Richard Ríos sale to Al-Ittihad, see sum | OneFootball

Colombian midfielder arrives on loan from Benfica until the end of the 2026/27 season

Al-Ittihad (SAU) announced the signing of Richard Ríos this week. As a result, the Colombian midfielder, formerly of Palmeiras and Flamengo, was officially unveiled as a reinforcement for the Saudi club. The deal is a loan from Benfica (POR) until the end of the 2026/27 season, with no purchase option.

How much will Flamengo receive from the transfer?

The Saudi club will pay 3 million euros, around R$ 18 million, for the loan. In addition, Al-Ittihad will also be responsible for the full salary of the 26-year-old player. This way, Benfica temporarily reduces the costs of a player who joined the Portuguese club last year.

As a result, FIFA’s solidarity mechanism guarantees Rubro-Negro a percentage of this move. Therefore, the club will receive 120 thousand euros, equivalent to R$ 712.6 thousand at the current exchange rate. That means Flamengo profits once again from the career path of a player developed in its youth academy.

What was Richard Ríos’s path before joining Flamengo?

Richard Ríos joined Fla in 2020, at just 20 years old. The Colombian played for the club’s under-20 side before trying to earn space in the first team. However, Paulo Sousa cut the player from the professional squad in 2022, and the midfielder moved on to Guarani.

In total, the player made 46 appearances for the club’s youth teams, as well as seven for the senior side. Palmeiras then saw potential in him and bought his rights in 2023. From there, the defensive midfielder began drawing attention from European football.

How did Richard Ríos leave for Benfica?

Benfica paid a fixed 30 million euros, around R$ 194 million at the exchange rate at the time. Palmeiras kept 70% of that amount, equivalent to R$ 135.8 million. The remaining percentages were split among three other training clubs.

That is because Benfica, Guarani, and Flamengo shared the remainder at 10%, 13.4%, and 6.6%, respectively. So Flamengo had already profited from the sale to the Portuguese club in 2023. This new move to Saudi Arabia therefore represents another extra gain for Rubro-Negro, even without any direct ties to the player.

The case therefore reinforces the importance of Flamengo’s youth academy in generating extra revenue. In another example, João Gomes’s transfer from Wolves (ENG) to Aston Villa (ENG) generated around R$ 32.7 million.

How is Flamengo doing without Richard Ríos?

While Richard Ríos moves to Arabia, Flamengo takes the field this Sunday (06) to face Remo in the Brasileirão. In short, the match kicks off at 4:00 p.m. (Brasília time) at Mangueirão Stadium in Belém.

In this way, Coluna do Fla TV will show the details of the match on YouTube with on-site coverage from Simon Lédo and Rock Hudson, as well as on the website and social media. The broadcast itself, however, will be on Globo (free-to-air), GE TV (YouTube), and Premiere (pay-per-view).

What is the author’s opinion on Richard Ríos’s situation?

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