Peñarol president on Flamengo’s De La Cruz: “He wants to come”

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Coluna do Fla

·28 Juli 2026

Peñarol president on Flamengo’s De La Cruz: “He wants to come”

Ignacio Ruglio spoke about the negotiations for Flamengo midfielder

Between De La Cruz and Peñarol (URU), everything is agreed. All that remains is an agreement with Flamengo. The one who revealed the status of the negotiations was the president of the Uruguayan club, Ignacio Ruglio. The executive stressed that the midfielder is interested in playing for the club he supports, but admitted that the talks are not simple.

— We started talking with the player and, well, he wants to spend some time here in his country. He has already said he is a fan of the club. He wasn’t getting all the minutes he expected. So, well, we started to sound out the player’s interest and had a few conversations with the president (Bap) and another with the sporting director (José Boto). These things are very difficult to make happen, but if you don’t try, they definitely won’t happen. We’ve been at this for almost 25 days now —, Ruglio began.

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— In fact, I myself told Nico (De la Cruz) yesterday that I really didn’t know how it had leaked. The journalist who published it is my friend, but I really had nothing to do with it. And he told me: “Well, we stayed quiet for quite a long time, so it’s normal that it could happen.” There’s not much more than that, we’re seeing whether there is any possibility and trying, but knowing they are very difficult players to bring in —, he added, in an interview with the YouTube channel ‘El Espectador Deportes’.

WHAT IS DE LA CRUZ’S PHYSICAL CONDITION?

De La Cruz was left out of Flamengo’s match against São Paulo for physical reasons, according to head coach Leonardo Jardim. However, Ignacio Ruglio guarantees that the player is fit and ready to help Peñarol in the second half of the season.

— He says he is fine, that he is training normally and that he is ready to play. In fact, we have something that was done with him in the national team that also shows he is fine. In other words, all the tests will be done later if this moves forward, but at first he is fine. (…) The idea is to have him not only for this half of the season, but always try for more time and dream of an international competition. In which Leo Fernández will already be recovered, and bought by the club, and also Arezo. If we could have Nico De la Cruz, I would start to say that we have players who, up front, can make things work out at the international level —, the president said.

— He comes from playing in a World Cup, he is 29 years old, these are not easy players to bring in. Flamengo paid a fortune for him, right? I think the fans themselves know that and also know us by now, we are always trying to do these things. Sometimes they work out, like with Leo Fernández and Arezo. And sometimes they don’t, but you always have to try. I am always in contact with everyone and, whenever they don’t have opportunities at their teams, I try to speak with the presidents and look for a possibility. We don’t have a negotiation that is anywhere near being closed, or anything like that. It is the player who is talking every day. We sent the letter of intent 10 days ago, but it is something very difficult to happen. Today there is nothing beyond the intention to bring the player under Uruguayan conditions, not under Flamengo’s conditions. And, well, the player wants to come” —, he concluded.

WHAT DOES PEÑAROL WANT?

Peñarol dreams of signing De La Cruz on a one-year loan, free of charge. However, for that to happen, the club would pay his full salary during that period. It is worth noting that Flamengo’s number 18 is under contract until the end of 2028. Signed in 2024, the Uruguayan cost US$16 million (R$77.7 million at the exchange rate at the time), but the total cost exceeded R$102 million with taxes and commissions.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION?

— It’s time for De La Cruz to seek a change of scenery. He is a great player, but he can’t put together a consistent run. And now, with Flamengo’s midfield having more and more players, he is unlikely to get minutes. It is very difficult to recover the amount invested in him, but even just saving on wages would already be interesting —, opined Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist at Coluna do Fla.

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