"One of us on the pitch": Palmeiras ultras bid farewell to Raphael Veiga | OneFootball

This Friday, Mancha Verde, the main organized fan group of Palmeiras, bid farewell to midfielder Raphael Veiga, who is leaving Verdão. At 30 years old, the athlete is in negotiations with América, from Mexico, and is expected to leave Alviverde after eight years at the club.

A declared Palmeiras fan, Veiga is close to finalizing his loan departure from the club. In a statement, the fan group praised the player's time with the team. “Veiga, your story is the dream of every Palmeiras fan. You lived what any Palmeiras supporter dreamed of one day: playing for their own team, honoring this jersey, and becoming eternal in it.”

Alviverde Idol

Raphael Veiga became an idol at Palmeiras. The midfielder won 11 titles over eight seasons with the club, including two Libertadores. Additionally, he scored 108 goals and provided 53 assists in 379 matches wearing the Alviverde jersey. He is the team's top scorer in the 21st century.

However, last season, the 30-year-old player struggled and lost his place. He has a contract with Verdão until the end of March 2027.

Read the full statement

“Today I had a dream. A boy's dream…

A boy who went to the field not to play, but to watch and cheer. He went hand in hand with his father, with his grandfather right beside him, three generations walking towards the same destination. In the stands, the grandfather told old stories, the father taught him to sing the anthem, and the boy learned there what it meant to belong.

He looked at the field with shining eyes. He didn't just see players running after the ball. He saw possibilities. He saw the future. He saw himself there, wearing that jersey that already lived in his heart before it even fit his body.

In the dream, time passed quickly. The boy grew up.

And suddenly, he was no longer in the stands.

He was on the field. He played for the team of his heart. He scored decisive goals, historic goals. He became a protagonist, a reference, an idol of a generation. The greatest scorer in big moments, present when Palmeiras needed him most. Each goal had weight, each participation had history, each celebration felt like a collective hug to millions of fans.

It was too big a dream. Too beautiful.

Then the boy woke up. And realized it wasn't a dream. It was reality.

𝖵𝖤𝖨𝖦𝖠, your story is the dream of every Palmeiras fan. You lived what any Palmeiras supporter dreamed of one day: playing for their own team, honoring this jersey, and becoming eternal in it.

And from the stands of memory, from the same place where it all began, there is the certainty: For your grandfather, you fulfilled the promise you made on that bench.

Thank you very much, Raphael Veiga.

Good luck on the path you follow.

It was unforgettable. And it will be unforgettable.

It's not just football.

Board MANCHA Alvi VERDE”

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