Flu, Zenit and Nino talks explained, what happens next | OneFootball

Fluminense’s attempt to bring back center back Nino, captain of the club’s 2023 Libertadores-winning team, has reached a delicate stage.

Negotiations with Zenit, from Russia, involve high figures and strict contractual demands.

Check out below the information compiled by ge about the deal!

July 2025: The first contact took place right after the Club World Cup. Zenit shut the matter down immediately and refused an immediate sale, but left the door open for the end of the year. Fluminense backed off and looked for other names on the market.

November 2025: After the election of president Mattheus Montenegro (successor to Mário Bittencourt), the club resumed contact. At that point, Nino indicated that he wanted to return to Brazil for personal reasons.

December 2025: The Russian club changed its stance and said it would not listen to any offers, frustrating not only Fluminense but also Palmeiras and Cruzeiro, which had made inquiries.

Main Obstacle

With the end of the European season and the title won in Russia, Zenit finally gave the green light to receive offers. Fluminense sent an official proposal last week, which was promptly rejected.

Then the Russians sent a counteroffer demanding a higher fee and a shorter payment deadline. The required cash flow became the major barrier to the deal. In addition, Nino’s plans have changed slightly: whereas Brazil had previously been the absolute priority, the center back is now also considering staying in Europe, as long as he can leave the Russian market.

Next Steps

Palmeiras out of the running: The São Paulo club had signaled a strong offer of 12 million euros (10 million fixed + 2 million in bonuses) for 100% of the rights. However, after signing Alexander Barboza from Botafogo, Palmeiras’ interest cooled.

European Market: The Spanish press reported interest from Real Sociedad, but there have been no concrete offers so far.

The tricolor strategy: Fluminense has not thrown in the towel. The board remains in constant contact with Zenit and will try in the coming days to lower the asking price and extend the payment terms to make the signing possible.

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

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