In talks for Almada, José Boto on Argentina trip: “No bidding war” | OneFootball

Flamengo’s football director explained details of the negotiations involving midfielder Thiago Almada

The transfer window is open until September 11. However, with an eye on strengthening the squad for the Copa Libertadores round of 16, Flamengo is racing against time to reach a conclusion in negotiations for midfielder Thiago Almada.

That is why Flamengo football director José Boto went to Argentina to deal with the negotiations in person. Upon returning to Brazil, in the early hours of this Tuesday (04), the executive spoke openly about Thiago Almada’s situation.

Speaking to journalists at the airport, José Boto made it clear that he did not go to Argentina to try to convince Almada of Flamengo’s greatness. In that sense, the football director stressed that Fla will not get into a bidding war with any club. Therefore, if the midfielder wants to accept the red-and-black club’s offer, it will be under the conditions the club presented.

What did José Boto say?

“The reason I went to Argentina was not to convince Almada. It would be stupid if I had to go there to convince him of Flamengo’s greatness. There were several matters I had to deal with there, in Flamengo’s interest. One of them, of course, was Almada. I went there to make it very clear to them that we would not get into bidding wars, in other words, what we had already agreed is what it will be if he wants to come to Flamengo.

People talk a lot of nonsense, they say a lot of things they know nothing about. Do you know, do you have any idea, how many negotiations worth 20 million euros or more have ever been done in the history of Brazilian football? Altogether, seven! Two by Flamengo, two by Palmeiras, two by Botafogo, and one by Cruzeiro, all of them in the last two years. In fact, Almada was one of them in the year Botafogo became champions. There have been seven transfers, carried out by four clubs. There were four presidents and four football directors who have ever been involved in transfers above twenty million.

We have to stick together, because it won’t be easy until the end of the year, and we can’t listen to people who talk about what they don’t know. Almada may come, someone else may come, or no one may come, but if someone does come, be sure that Flamengo’s president (Bap) is as much of a supporter as all of you, or even more. He will not let the club break down. And many times, in that urge to bring in a big name, a player of this level, the club ends up getting broken.

So I want to tell people to stay calm, because if any player is to come, he will come under the conditions Flamengo wants, and not through bidding wars. Almada never told us he didn’t want Flamengo. Now, we told Almada and his staff that we do not get into bidding wars.”

Is Flamengo optimistic about the deal?

In addition, football director José Boto also said there is optimism about getting the deal for Almada over the line. However, he made it clear that Flamengo will not wait forever for the midfielder. The idea at Rubro-Negro is to be patient, but only up to a point.

“There is optimism, yes. But we’re not going to wait forever, right? Although, I’ll say it again, signings of this value require patience. We have to be patient so we don’t pay more than we should. We’re not going to wait forever and we’re not going to get into bidding wars with other clubs that are interested and other clubs that aren’t interested, but for whom it’s part of the game to pretend they are in order to drive up the player’s price,” said Boto.

What is making the negotiation difficult at the moment?

“You know that when these amounts are being paid, payment terms are very important, right? One thing is paying 20 million in one year, another is paying 20 million in two years, another is paying 20 in three or five. And that makes all the difference in a negotiation. And obviously, when I’m selling, I want to be paid right away, at most within two years. On the other side, it’s the same thing. So these are processes that take time, and they require patience so that no more is paid than what should be.

On the other hand, there’s something else people sometimes forget: when we say a transfer costs 20 or 30 million, it’s 20, plus 18% tax. That doesn’t exist in other countries. When it’s 20, it’s not ‘just’ 20, it’s almost 24 million euros, right? If it’s 30, it’s not ‘just’ 30, it’s 36 million euros. And that also makes a difference. If it were easy to sign players at the peak of their careers at 25 years old, as is the case with Almada, there wouldn’t be only 7 negotiations in the history of Brazilian football.

Then, finally, I want to leave a message for all the fans: nowadays, a lot of people criticize the amounts paid for this and that. But we can’t want players, what do you call them, big names, right? Players at the peak of their careers and pay as if they were prospects. In Portugal we say this: ‘eating lobster at the price of sardines doesn’t exist, and neither does eating sardines thinking you’re eating lobster,’ right?” he said.

And Luiz Henrique?

Finally, regarding other negotiations, José Boto was direct when he said: “Flamengo does not focus on just one player. Sometimes Flamengo plays on several boards.” This, of course, excites the fans about a possible parallel negotiation involving Luiz Henrique.

Watch José Boto’s full interview:

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