Chelsea captain praises Flamengo ahead of Club World Cup

Flamengo drew 1-1 with Ceará on Sunday night (3). With the result at Castelão, Mengão remains in first place in the Brasileirão. The match marked another game where the Mais Querido's low effectiveness in building plays cost the final result dearly.

FIRST HALF

In the first half, Flamengo dominated. Mengão completely dominated possession and had more shots, despite goalkeeper Bruno Ferreira's lack of work, making only one save on a shot from Gonzalo Plata. Late in the first half, Plata found Arrascaeta in the box, who scored the red-and-black goal .

SECOND HALF

Despite maintaining high possession, Flamengo couldn't find the same effectiveness as in the first half, and Ceará began to find more space to play after Arrascaeta's departure. On a corner kick taken by Lucas Mugni, Rossi came out of goal but hesitated, and Pedro Raul headed the ball into the back of the net, tying the score.

With the result, Flamengo remains in first place with 37 points , but with the same number of points as Cruzeiro, with an advantage in goal difference (24 to 19). Mengão, however, still has one game less than the Minas Gerais team.

NEXT DUEL

Flamengo now prepares for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil round of 16 against Atlético-MG . Flamengo lost the first leg 1-0 at Maracanã and needs to win by at least two goals to secure qualification. If Flamengo wins by one goal, the match will go to penalties.

In the midst of one of its worst institutional and financial crises , Corinthians heard a direct message from one of the names behind Flamengo's recent success. Former Flamengo president Eduardo Bandeira de Mello stated that the São Paulo club needs, above all, "shame on its face" to begin a recovery process .

The statement was made during an interview with the Benja Me Mucho channel, one day after the president of the Corinthians Deliberative Council, Romeu Tuma Júnior, declared that the club “wants to be like Flamengo”, which generated a lot of criticism from Corinthians fans .

Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, ex-Flamengo, on Corinthians: "It's a matter of shame on your face"

As president during the beginning of the restructuring that transformed Flamengo into a sporting and financial powerhouse, Bandeira was blunt when commenting on the Corinthians situation: "It's much more a question of attitude, posture, and shame. What you need to do at Corinthians, what we did at Flamengo, can be learned in Financial Administration . There's nothing fancy about it," he said.

“POSTURE, RESPONSIBILITY AND CREDIBILITY”

According to Bandeira, the key to a turnaround lies in adopting basic management principles—something he believes Parque São Jorge currently lacks. For the former director, the pillars of reconstruction are simple: posture, responsibility, and credibility: " If you have these pillars, people believe . And trust is the starting point for any recovery," he added.

FANS AS OUR GREATEST ASSET

Bandeira also highlighted that the black and white team and Mengão share an asset that could be decisive in the rebuilding process: the strength of their fans. " For those with 30 million fans, nothing is impossible . The greatest asset of Flamengo, Corinthians, Vasco, Palmeiras... is their fans," he stated.

A CHASM BETWEEN REALITIES

Bandeira de Mello's statements gain even more weight given the contrast between the two clubs. Corinthians currently has a debt exceeding R$2 billion and is experiencing an internal political crisis . Flamengo, on the other hand, projects revenues close to that amount in 2025, the result of a management that, according to the former president, began with tough—but fundamental—decisions.

As Flamengo and Internacional prepare for their Copa Libertadores Round of 16 clash, a market movement is connecting the two clubs. Colorado has agreed to loan left-back Ramon to Vitória , with a contract valid until the end of the Brazilian Championship .

A Flamengo youth product, the player will be loaned with a purchase option set at €1.5 million (approximately R$9.6 million) for 50% of the economic rights. This information comes from journalist Venê Casagrande. The official announcement is subject to bureaucratic adjustments.

RAMON LOOKS FOR MORE MINUTES ON THE FIELD

Signed by Inter in January of this year from Olympiacos-GRE, Ramon has a contract until the end of 2027. However, he was unable to establish himself at Beira-Rio: he only played 12 games, the last one being on June 12, in the defeat to Atlético-MG .

Since then, he's lost his place under coach Roger Machado, who even improvised with defender Victor Gabriel at left back . The move to Vitória represents a chance to regain rhythm and confidence. The Bahia club, in turn, needed reinforcement at that position after the injury of full-back Jamerson.

FLAMENGO AND INTER FACE EACH OTHER IN THE LIBERTADORES

Flamengo and Internacional will face each other for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores . The first leg takes place on August 13th at the Maracanã, while the return leg is scheduled for August 20th at the Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre.

RAMON'S TRAJECTORY AT FLAMENGO

Ramon was part of a successful generation in Flamengo's youth academy . He won the Copinha in 2018, alongside Hugo Souza, Hugo Moura, Pepê, Lucas Silva, and Yuri César. He also won the U-17 Copa do Brasil, the Brasileirão, and the U-20 Super Cup.

For the professional team, he played 39 matches and participated in the 2020 Brazilian title campaign , in addition to winning the three-time Rio de Janeiro championship (2019, 2020 and 2021). Before going to Europe, he was loaned to Red Bull Bragantino.