Why Flamengo ended talks for Luiz Henrique, Zenit’s price and a firm financial ceiling | OneFootball

Flamengo have ended their pursuit of Luiz Henrique after refusing to exceed their budget, leaving no additions for the Libertadores last 16. Talks with Zenit collapsed after weeks of contact.

According to Coluna Do Fla, Flamengo initially signalled €20m, while Zenit wanted €30m fixed plus five million euros in bonuses. The Rio club never tabled an offer at those levels.

President Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, set a €25m ceiling and instructed football director José Boto to stick to it. All negotiations were conducted within that limit.

Boto met agent William Bento on 29 July in Porto Alegre before Flamengo faced Internacional to discuss the transfer. In parallel, the club explored Thiago Almada but he joined River Plate, with salary demands above the board’s threshold halting any attempt despite a cordial relationship with Atlético de Madrid, who hold the player’s rights.

Zenit preferred payment upfront, yet accepted instalments after the player made clear he wanted to return to Rio. Even so, Flamengo kept their stance.

On Friday seven August, Boto informed the player’s representative at the Ninho do Urubu that the offer would not be raised. Soon after, the player’s camp said a series of factors had hindered progress and no agreement was reached.

Flamengo never formalised a bid to Zenit because there was no prior verbal agreement on price. With the 18:00 Brasília deadline passed for last 16 registrations, they will face Cruzeiro on 12 and 19 August without new faces. New signings can only be registered for the quarter-finals, and with the window open until 11 September the board remain attentive to opportunities.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”