The empire strikes back: Flamengo eye Calleri, president coy | OneFootball

It seems Flamengo hasn’t learned its lesson from the Marcos Antônio saga. After their failed attempt to lure the midfielder, the Rio team is once again trying to swoop in ahead of São Paulo for a player. This time, their target is striker Calleri.

With reports that the number 9 is not having such an easy time negotiating a contract renewal with Tricolor, which only runs until the end of the year, Flamengo insiders have let it slip to their beat reporters that they are interested in signing the Argentine.

According to information gathered by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, executives from the Rio club have recently reached out to Calleri’s representatives to inquire about his situation with São Paulo. Obviously, to disguise their interest, no offers have been made. There haven’t even been any direct conversations about a move from Morumbi to Gávea.

However, unlike the Marcos Antônio situation—where interest and offers to Tricolor and the player were blatantly leaked—with Calleri, the approach has been much more cautious.

So much so that Luiz Eduardo Baptista, their president and a well-known talker, dodged questions about the interest in an interview with ‘ESPN‘.

“I think Calleri is a great player, he has an important history in football, especially with São Paulo. I still hold a bit of a grudge against him because of that goal at Maracanã against us (in the 2023 Copa do Brasil final), but he’s a great player and I wish him all the best. I think he really fits São Paulo,” he said.

“Look, I don’t talk about athletes by name, I talk about processes. The fact that you evaluate these players doesn’t mean you’re going to approach them or start negotiations. And, many times, just making contact to find out their intentions and timing doesn’t mean the conversation will go any further. That’s Boto’s business, he handles that. I talk to him when he says, ‘I want Hernán and I don’t want Bap, let’s sit down and talk.’ Only then will I sit down and talk,” he indicated.

A beautiful bit of theater. Calleri has been on the list of potential reinforcements for the Rio club since 2023, precisely when he was one of their tormentors in the main national knockout final. A more serious negotiation was only avoided because the number 9 made it very clear he had no interest in leaving Morumbi.

In fact, talks with potential suitors for the striker that year—especially concrete offers from Mexico and the two Argentine giants, Boca Juniors and River Plate—prompted Calleri to change agents. Even with issues at São Paulo, such as delayed salaries and signing bonuses, he wanted to stay.

Nothing has changed now, we emphasize to reassure you, fans. And once again, signs of dissatisfaction are coming from the number 9’s camp, again motivated by the club’s debts to the player. There is a belief that they could secure a more lucrative contract for the player, who believes he will receive this raise from Tricolor itself.

It is in this context of financial impasse that Flamengo is rubbing its hands, dreaming of being able to swoop in ahead of São Paulo and secure a pre-contract with Calleri.

At Morumbi, there is confidence that the striker will renew his contract. The disagreement between the parties is over the length of the new deal, one to two years (the club is leaving the duration open for the player to choose). What Calleri is asking for is a salary adjustment. The highest-paid player in the squad throughout Julio Casares’ tenure until Lucas arrived, the Argentine renewed last time without a raise. And he saw, besides number 7, his teammate Luciano also overtake him in the salary ranking. It’s worth noting that in recent years, James Rodríguez and Oscar were other names who arrived earning higher wages.

After a dramatic 2025, in which he underwent surgery and missed much of the year, Calleri is having a brilliant season for São Paulo. In fact, it’s his best ever for the club. He’s the outfield player with the most appearances, with 16 games played and an impressive nine goals scored.

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