Leonardo Jardim wanted Flamengo youngster at Cruzeiro | OneFootball

Which Flamengo Youth Player Did Leonardo Jardim Try to Sign During His Time at Cruzeiro?

Coach Leonardo Jardim recalled some attempts to sign Flamengo players while he was in charge of Cruzeiro last season. In one of his statements, the Portuguese coach mentioned that the team from Minas Gerais tried to sign Matheus Gonçalves, a youth product of Ninho.

“It also happened with Matheus Gonçalves, we had few technically skilled players to bring different qualities to the team,” said Leonardo Jardim at a press conference this Thursday (05), at CT Ninho do Urubu. Besides the youth player, the coach made a point of mentioning that he also requested the signing of Luiz Araújo, but the deal did not go through due to a veto from Flamengo.

WHAT HAPPENED THAT MATHEUS GONÇALVES DIDN'T GO TO CRUZEIRO?

Matheus Gonçalves was not getting opportunities last season under Filipe Luís, and because of that, the player started looking for a change of scenery. The first club to approach the midfielder was Cruzeiro.

Playing for Flamengo’s U-20 team, Matheus Gonçalves even said his goodbyes, stating that he was playing his last match wearing the Sacred Mantle. However, the management of Flamengo and Cruzeiro could not reach an agreement and the deal fell through.

WHAT WAS MATHEUS GONÇALVES' DESTINATION AFTER LEAVING FLAMENGO?

After all the back-and-forth with Cruzeiro, Flamengo ended up selling Matheus Gonçalves to Al-Ahli, from Saudi Arabia. In the transaction, the Rubro-Negro received around R$ 50 million and still kept 20% of the player's economic rights.

WHAT IS FLAMENGO'S NEXT MATCH?

With Leonardo Jardim, but without Matheus Gonçalves, Flamengo faces Fluminense this Sunday (08), in the final of the Carioca. The match kicks off at 6 p.m. (Brasília time), at Maracanã. As usual, Coluna do Fla TV will cover all the details of the clash on YouTube, as well as on their website and social media.

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