Léo Moura rues ‘unfinished business’ from Flamengo spell | OneFootball

Léo Moura took part in a Libertadores event this Friday (18)

Brazilian league, Copa do Brasil, and Carioca champion with Flamengo, Léo Moura only failed to win the Libertadores with the club. This Friday (18), the former full-back took part in an event organized by Conmebol and regretted not having lifted the trophy with the team he loves.

— Every player dreams of winning. Only those who are there living that moment of lifting that trophy can understand how indescribable it is. I had that pleasure, that happiness. I wish I had lifted it wearing the Flamengo shirt, but it wasn’t possible. But I won it wearing Grêmio’s shirt at the end of my career, and it meant a lot — said Léo Moura.

The former full-back played in the 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 editions of the Libertadores with Flamengo. However, the team was never really close to competing for the title. There were two eliminations in the group stage, two more in the round of 16, and one in the quarterfinals. Still, at the end of his career, Léo Moura managed to lift the trophy with Grêmio in 2017.

FLAMENGO’S RISE TO A NEW LEVEL

In Léo Moura’s time, Flamengo fans used to sing “Libertadores, qualquer dia tamo aí” (“Libertadores, one day we’ll be there”) to celebrate qualification for the continental tournament. Today, however, the reality is completely different. Flamengo have played in every edition since 2017 and have won three of the last seven.

Champions in 1981, 2019, 2022, and 2025, Flamengo are now three matches away from a fifth title. In the 2026 edition, the Rubro-Negro will play Estudiantes (ARG) in the semifinals during the weeks of October 15 and 21, with the first leg in Argentina and the return leg at the Maracanã. If they go through, Mengão will face either Fluminense or Palmeiras in the final, which will take place in Montevideo at the end of November.

CONTROVERSY INVOLVING LÉO MOURA

Despite having played for Flamengo for ten years, from 2005 to 2015, Léo Moura lost some of the affection the fans had for him. First, the player even negotiated and was close to joining Vasco. Because of the reaction and pressure from the Nação, the player backed out when he was on the verge of sealing the deal.

Later, in 2017, after winning the Libertadores with Grêmio, Léo Moura celebrated by saying that it “smells like a title.” At the time, a year earlier, Flamengo had become the butt of jokes because of a run of failures and for being left with “just the scent of it.” The phrase from the then full-back was interpreted as irony, since the player had left on bad terms with the club’s board at the time, as he wanted to renew his contract but was unsuccessful.

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