Zico hits out at Globo journalist: "Never set foot in the Football Centre"

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·28 December 2025

Zico hits out at Globo journalist: "Never set foot in the Football Centre"

Flamengo’s Greatest Idol, Zico, Expresses Discontent with Statements by Globo’s Renata Mendonça

Even with the end of the national football season, some controversies continue to unfold. Last week, Bap, president of Flamengo, referred to Globo journalist Renata Mendonça as “Big-nosed.” The executive’s attitude sparked a series of reactions, and now Zico, Flamengo’s greatest idol, has also criticized the journalist.

Without delving into the merits of Bap’s provocation, the former player did not hide his irritation with Renata’s stance in comments she made about the lack of structure in women’s football. This is because the women’s team of Flamengo once used the facilities of the Zico Football Club (CFZ) for training.

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What Did Zico Say About Renata Mendonça?

She ended up harming CFZ, which had nothing to do with the story, by spreading some lies. They took staged photos and recordings. I don’t know who did it, the club is open, and I can’t take stronger actions. Otherwise, I would. An image that appeared of black water was something that happened throughout the Recreio dos Bandeirantes (neighborhood). People need to get informed before publishing things. She never set foot in CFZ to learn about its history. She could criticize Flamengo, women’s football, but not say that CFZ lacks structure. CFZ was the referees’ center during the World Cup, a FIFA event. We didn’t build a football center to host clubs, we are a football school. When Flamengo asked, we made an effort to receive them. Everything that was done there was at Flamengo’s request. If someone goes there, talks, and understands what’s happening, that’s fine. But to publish a note and attack a football school that welcomes almost two thousand people a day, that shouldn’t be done.

What Did Renata Mendonça Say About the Football Center?

In October 2025, journalist Renata Mendonça pointed out shortcomings in the facilities that Flamengo provided for women’s football. Renata claimed the water available in the locker rooms was of poor quality, and also criticized the size and quality of the football field.

This is the structure that Flamengo, the richest club in the country, offers its professional female players. There are 25 players who have to use this space daily, and clearly, it’s a cramped space. The condition of the faucets, the drain, the tiles. Oh, but is it just this locker room? No, there’s even another one, which is in a container to be used when there’s an event at CFZ. And the water inside the container is like this. No, but the field must be top-notch, right? One of the most traditional clubs in Brazil, which is always complaining about poor football pitches around here, would never allow its players to train on a so-so field. This is the field. Its dimensions are 54 m wide by 85 m long. The official dimensions of a football field are 68 m wide by 105 m long.

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