Flamengo off the hook for R$28 million in case with former midfielder | OneFootball

From 2024 to 2025, Flamengo’s board worked to reduce spending on lawsuits

Flamengo announced last Wednesday (07) that it saved around R$ 28 million by avoiding a lawsuit in the Labor Court. The case was brought by former midfielder Rômulo, who was seeking a multimillion real pension, claiming that an injury prevented him from playing while he was with the club.

According to the case files, Rômulo won a lawsuit against the INSS to receive accident aid equivalent to 50% of the benefit salary. The document also states that Flamengo owes the player R$ 50,000 for moral and aesthetic damages, in addition to the R$ 28 million pension until the former athlete turns 75 years old.

So how did Flamengo avoid the lawsuit?

The Rubro-Negro appealed, arguing that Rômulo only obtained the disability report after leaving the Most Beloved. After all, the former midfielder was at Fla from 2005 to 2012, but the disability was only confirmed in 2015.

However, the ex-player’s defense did not give up. Thus, the dispute reached the TST last year and Minister Alexandre Belmonte upheld the second instance decision that ordered the club to pay R$ 66,487.35 for moral and aesthetic damages, with updated values.

The little over R$ 66,000, however, was small compared to the acquittal of the R$ 28 million lifetime pension the midfielder was seeking. Therefore, the club considers the case internally as a victory.

But who is Rômulo, former Flamengo player?

A product of Mengão’s youth academy, he made his professional debut in 2005, became a starter in 2007, and was injured in October of that year. A slip caused the midfielder to tear the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and stretch the medial collateral ligament, as well as damage the meniscus, cartilage, and the bones of the femur and tibia.

The player only returned to the field in 2008, when he was 21 years old. However, he was never able to have a run of games again. Soon after, he went through several loans, until he ended his career in 2016, a year after the disability report.

What does this case represent for Flamengo?

The Rubro-Negro knew how to choose its legal battles in 2025. That’s because, in 2024, the club had R$ 95 million set aside for potential lawsuits. By the end of 2025, however, the reserve amount had dropped to R$ 69 million.

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