Léo Ortiz responds to José Boto: "Filipe Luís always gave freedom" | OneFootball

Léo Ortiz stated that the freedom given by Filipe Luís was the same as in 2025

The way Filipe Luís's dismissal happened caught the Flamengo players by surprise last week. In the meantime, Léo Ortiz countered the statement made by Flamengo's football director, José Boto, after the former coach's departure.

In summary, Léo Ortiz questioned: “If there was a problem, why wasn't it mentioned before? Why wait for Filipe Luís to leave to tell the players?” Then, the defender continued talking about the freedom that Filipe Luís always gave to the players.

— I speak calmly: Filipe always gave freedom, and it was in this way that we won everything last year. Either you believe in this way or you don't. You can't just believe when you win. Filipe always gave freedom but never stopped demanding, from the youngest to the oldest. It's no wonder he achieved everything he did -, he said.

What happened?

José Boto gave a brief speech before Flamengo's training session last Tuesday afternoon (03), after Filipe Luís's dismissal. In his speech, the football director gathered the players and made it clear that the athletes also had responsibility in the coach's departure.

On the occasion, José Boto stated that the Flamengo players did not know how to take advantage of the freedom given by Filipe Luís. However, according to Léo Ortiz, it's not possible to believe in a work methodology only when you win.

What did José Boto say?

“Yesterday (early Tuesday morning, the 3rd), I did something I had never done before, and I don't do it because I don't believe the coach is the only one to blame for the bad moment. It's me, the board, and you too, because some of you did not know how to respect Filipe's more liberal leadership. When freedom is given, responsibility is expected in return. And some of you abused the freedom Filipe gave you, you were irresponsible.

For the players who are pissed because they think they should have higher salaries: the only way to achieve that is what Arrasca did, who was pissed last year because he wanted a renewal in the middle of the year, and what did he do? He delivered on the field and showed he deserved it. When we wanted to renew, he asked for more than he initially did, and we had to give it!

Guilty? We all are! The president, me, and you too! Now a new coach will come, and there is only one way: work and win.”

According to the Portuguese director's view, some athletes have been concerned only with improving their own contracts without showing performance to justify it. It's worth mentioning that Boto's speech was poorly received by the group, who left the meeting space without even responding to the director.

Why was Filipe Luís dismissed?

In summary, the relationship between Filipe Luís and Bap, the president of Flamengo, began to deteriorate back in December 2025. This was because the handling of the coach's contract renewal turned into a saga at the time.

Moreover, the early return of the professional squad in the 2026 season also caused significant disagreements between Filipe Luís and Bap. All of this, combined with Flamengo's poor performance on the field, made the situation unsustainable.

In fact, Bap wanted to dismiss Filipe Luís after the runner-up finish in the Recopa Sudamericana against Lanús (ARG) last Thursday (26). However, until then, Flamengo had not yet secured a replacement, and therefore, postponed the decision.

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