Bap reveals regret over the sale of a Flamengo player | OneFootball

Luiz Eduardo Baptista acknowledged that he should have given Juninho more time at Flamengo

The most surprising signing of the ‘Bap Era’ at Flamengo was Juninho. Brought in after the club’s scouting work, the forward was sold less than a year later to Pumas (MEX). The Rubro-Negro president admitted that letting the player go ended up being a mistake.

— I’m very satisfied with the signings we’ve made since I took over the club. Even one that didn’t work out so well, like Juninho. I understand that it wasn’t because of the player, it was our mistake. How long did it take for Léo Pereira to be embraced by the Flamengo fans? A year and a half. Michael? More than a year. Rodinei? Almost two. Pulgar? A year —, said the Rubro-Negro president.

— The thing is, nowadays a player arrives and everyone wants him to hit the ground running, to set the world on fire right away. It’s not simple to play for a club like Flamengo. The level of exposure, the demands, the pressure… It’s a whole package —, President Bap said last Thursday on the “Sport Insider” videocast, from the N Sports channel on YouTube.

SO HOW DID JUNINHO’S SPELL AT FLAMENGO GO, AFTER ALL?

Flamengo invested R$ 52.7 million to sign Juninho from Qarabag (AZE). Wearing the Sacred Shirt, the forward played 32 matches, only seven of them as a starter. In total, he scored four goals, but three were decisive: the one that secured the Carioca title against Fluminense, the winner in the Libertadores opener against Táchira (VEN), and the goal in the comeback win over Sport, crucial to winning the Brasileirão.

After being sold to Pumas, Juninho has been shining for the Mexican side. In 20 matches, the forward has scored eight goals and provided four assists. In short, Mengão sold the forward abroad for 5 million euros (around R$ 32.3 million at the exchange rate at the time).

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