Cruzeiro join Flamengo and Palmeiras in race to sign centre-back | OneFootball

Valued in the Market, Vitão Unlikely to Stay at Internacional in 2026

With Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira, and Danilo as trusted men in defense, Flamengo is targeting the signing of another defender for 2026: Vitão from Internacional. However, the negotiation promises to be challenging. This is because Palmeiras and now Cruzeiro also desire the 25-year-old athlete.

Cruzeiro requested information from Internacional about Vitão and heard that a deal could be made for 10 million euros (R$ 64 million) for the 80% of the rights that the Gauchos hold of the athlete. Thus, the team from Minas was taken aback and is trying to lower the asking price. The team's new coach, Tite, requested the signing of the defender.

Meanwhile, Flamengo, to close the deal with Vitão, is using the ‘Thiago Maia factor’. Since Internacional signed the player from Mengão last year and has not yet paid, the Rubro-Negro wants the amounts to be deducted. In other words, Mengão desires a ‘discount’ of R$ 21.6 million, equivalent to the unpaid amount for the midfielder. The Gauchos have stated they will not accept and want the full amount in cash.

WHY IS DEFENSE A PRIORITY FOR FLAMENGO IN THE MARKET?

In 2025, Flamengo struggled at the end of the season with the call-ups of Danilo and the injury of Léo Ortiz at the same time. As a result, Filipe Luís turned to the young João Victor, who made mistakes in the matches against Sport and Fluminense. Therefore, as the hero of the 2025 Libertadores is expected to compete in the World Cup, Mengão is aiming for another defender.

The Rubro-Negro director José Boto is an old acquaintance of Vitão and is betting on the good relationship to convince the defender to accept Flamengo's project. The Portuguese worked with the defender in Ukraine at Shakhtar Donetsk (UCR), playing a crucial role in the athlete's move to Europe at the time.

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