Ricardinho Martins fears Flamengo move for Lucas Paquetá could tilt Brazilian football | OneFootball

Flamengo are pushing to prise Lucas Paquetá from West Ham. The pursuit has intensified on-air fears of domestic imbalance.

According to Coluna Do Fla, club representatives met in England on Friday, 16 January, with another meeting set for Saturday, 17 January. The club intend to pay €40 million, €35 million guaranteed plus €5 million in bonuses.

Ricardinho Martins warned that Brazilian football risks resembling the Bundesliga or Ligue 1, with a single side far stronger than the rest, and suggested Flamengo could win the Brasileirão every other year despite Palmeiras and Cruzeiro efforts. Those leagues are often won by Bayern Munich and PSG amid stark investment gaps.

He argued that the scale of the deal is European-level business and even floated a move for the world’s best right-back, naming Achraf Hakimi. As tempers rose, colleagues urged him to calm down and host Tayna Espinoza questioned whether he was out of his mind.

Beyond the debate, president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, wants Flamengo to become the Real Madrid of the Americas by pairing competitiveness with star power and global reach.

Source: Coluna Do Fla