Samuel Lino: Flamengo are the biggest, their success rattles Brazil | OneFootball

Samuel Lino believes other teams don't like Flamengo because they're always reaching finals and winning

Having come up through the youth ranks at Flamengo, Samuel Lino highlighted the club's greatness when commenting on his experience with the first team. In addition, the left winger emphasized Flamengo’s recent prominence, stating that the club's constant success causes the Rubro-Negro to provoke reactions across the country, with support from many and criticism from rival fans.

“Living this now with the first team is different. In the youth teams, you only get a small sense of what Flamengo is, the fans. I had the experience of playing a sub-20 Carioca match at Maracanã with the fans, and also at the Copinha, when the fans packed the most important stadiums. In 2018 I said, “Yeah, Flamengo is a giant club. I’m very young, I still don’t really grasp it.” Now, in the first team, there’s no denying it—the displays, the finals, the games we play, all of that shows the greatness of Flamengo,” he said, before continuing:

“It’s more than I expected. Because it’s not just Flamengo fans who talk about Flamengo. It’s the most beloved club in the world, but also the most hated. In Brazil, it seems like the other teams don’t like Flamengo because they’re always reaching finals and winning. There’s something against us. Sometimes fans of other teams, who have nothing to do with it, talk about Flamengo, about the players. It’s normal. But playing for the biggest club in the world is like that. Everyone’s going to talk because it’s the biggest and the best,” he concluded in an interview with GE.

TIME AT FLAMENGO?

The forward had a brief stint with Flamengo’s under-20 team between 2017 and 2018, when he was on loan from São Bernardo and was known simply as Samuel. After that, in July 2025, the player returned to Flamengo, signed from Atlético de Madrid (ESP), with a contract running until the end of 2029.

At the time, Samuel Lino was bought for 22 million euros (R$ 141.5 million at the exchange rate then), becoming the most expensive signing in the club’s history, surpassing previous records. Currently, that title belongs to Lucas Paquetá.

AND NOW?

Now, Samuel Lino is available to Filipe Luís for the commitments of the long 2026 calendar. The next challenge will be against Lanús (ARG), in the first leg of the Recopa Sudamericana, this Thursday (19th). Kickoff is at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), at Estadio Ciudad de Lanús, in Argentina, with full coverage from Coluna do Fla.

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