Santiago Sosa deal at Vasco said to anger Flamengo board | OneFootball

Vasco’s capture of Santiago Sosa has escalated the cold war with Flamengo, with Extra reporting that the direct tussle for the Argentine midfielder was the trigger for president Luiz Eduardo Baptista (Bap)’s recent attacks on the São Januário club.

Flamengo had targeted Sosa amid a contract stand-off with Chilean Erick Pulgar. Inside Gávea, decision-makers felt Vasco’s budget constraints and judicial recovery would lead the player to choose them.

Pedrinho’s administration moved quickly, securing a bank guarantee through Crefisa. Arranged within talks over a sale of the SAF with businessman Marcos Lamacchia, it enabled Vasco to close the deal and derail their rival’s plan.

The outcome fed internal discontent at Flamengo after other recent transfer setbacks. From Sosa’s agreement onwards, Bap intensified public challenges to the Vasco SAF’s finances, alleging a conflict of interest due to Lamacchia’s family link to Leila Pereira, and raised the issue with regulators including ANRESF.

Vasco’s president responded strongly while boarding for Paraguay last week, branding the rival lacking in character, arrogant and overbearing. There was also a veto from the Maracanã consortium on Copa do Brasil fixtures.

Sosa has already debuted in the Campeonato Brasileiro and remains in Pedro Emanuel’s training schedule. The staff are working on his match sharpness, aiming to make him a key midfield option in the decisive rounds of the competition.

Source: PaponaColina

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