FROM THE URUBU'S NEST TO THE WORLD! FLAMENGO CREARY IS IN MANCHESTER CITY'S SIGHTS

The Peñarol (URU) team was excited from the beginning of the trip to Rio de Janeiro, where they will face Flamengo, in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. In addition to cheering the players on the flight towards the 'Marvelous City', the Uruguayans posted a montage of Christ the Redeemer with the club's flag.

As soon as they landed on Rio de Janeiro soil, the Uruguayan club published an image of a of the city's main tourist attractions. In addition to the photo, the team wrote the following message: “Peñarol em Rio”, alluding to Rock In Rio. Afterwards, a video showing the arrival of the athletes at Galeão Airport was also published.

Peñarol reached the quarterfinals of the Libertadores after beating The Strongest (BOL) in the round of 16. In the first game, the Uruguayan team defeated their opponent 4-0. On the way back, the Bolivian team even won by a score of 1-0, however, it was not enough to take away the classification of Diego Aguirre's men.

Before the game against Flamengo, Peñarol played in the Championship Uruguayan. On Saturday (14), Rubro-Negro's opponent beat Rampla (URU), by a score of 4 to 0. Given this situation, they remained undefeated in the national tournament.

Flamengo is coming off a bitter draw with Vasco on Sunday (15), however, they will have reinforcements for this Thursday's duel (19). Recovered from a thigh injury, De La Cruz is back in the team. In addition to the Uruguayan, Alex Sandro, Alcaraz and Gonzalo Plata were registered in the competition and, as a result, will be included in the clash.

Last Tuesday, the candidate for re-election for mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, denied the journalist Ancelmo Gois, from Globo. In a post on Instagram, the mayor informed that the city hall will be responsible for removing the megastructure on the gas meter site, different from what was reported. Furthermore, he guaranteed that Flamengo will have its new stadium, with the best conditions and security.

The news published by Ancelmo informs that Flamengo would have to pay R$100 million to remove a large gas structure present on land acquired by the club, which is owned by CEG and CEG-Rio, which are companies that are part of the gas concessionaire Naturgy.

According to the article, the companies were informed that Flamengo is the responsible for bearing the expenses, as provided for in one of the annexes to the land purchase and transfer contract. The clause, however, does not have a specified limit.

Paes stated that the values ​​for the transfer of the structure are different from what was pointed out in the article by Ancelmo Gois. Furthermore, it exempted Flamengo from any responsibility, and that the city hall has been planning to remove it for years.

“They are making me defend @flamengo more than I would like: let it be clear that this is not the The cost of this transfer and when it happens will be the responsibility of the city of Rio, which knows that this structure cannot be in an area that is already receiving so many residential buildings. It's been in our plans for a long time! Flamengo will have its new stadium there in the gasometer with all the quality and safety that the region demands and deserves. Period!”, published the mayor.

Belgian player Kevin De Bruyne, one of Manchester City's main names, made scathing criticisms of the new format of the Club Super World Cup, a competition that will be played in 2025 and will feature the participation of 32 teams, including Brazilians Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras. The tournament, which will have a similar format to the World Cup, did not please the player due to the overload of games and the impact on the athletes' calendar.

In a press conference, De Bruyne expressed his dissatisfaction with the short interval between the end of the Club World Cup and the start of the Premier League season. "The problem will come when the Club World Cup ends. We will only have three weeks between the final and the first round of the Premier League. There are three weeks to take a vacation and prepare to play more than 80 games. Maybe it will work this year, but it will be a problem the following year", warned the player.

The Belgian midfielder's concern extends to the increasing number of matches that athletes need to play in various competitions throughout the season, affecting performance so much regarding the physical well-being of the players.

De Bruyne also criticized FIFA and UEFA for not listening to the concerns of the players and their associations: “The PFA (Professional Players Association) in England and unions in other countries tried to find solutions. The problem is that UEFA and FIFA play more matches, and we tried to say something, but no solution was found. They don't care. It seems that money speaks louder than players", he said.

FIFA has already announced the dates of the Club Super World Cup, which will begin on June 15, 2025 and will conclude on July 13 of the same year. The competition promises to bring together great teams from different continents, providing an unprecedented format with 32 participants.

Brazilian clubs Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras guaranteed a place in the tournament as they were the last champions of the Copa Libertadores da América, with Flamengo winning the title in 2022.