FLAMENGO TARGETS BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL JEWEL FOR 2024 IN A POSSIBLE DEPARTURE OF GABIGOL

Corinthians will have goalkeeper Hugo Souza in the two clashes against Flamengo in the semi-finals of the Copa do Brasil. The draw, held this Friday at the CBF headquarters, determined that the São Paulo club will play the second match at home, at the Neo Química Arena. The semi-finals are scheduled for the 2nd and 16th of October.

Hugo Souza's contract, which belongs to Mais Querido, provides that Corinthians can acquire 50% of the goalkeeper's economic rights from next month . For the loan until the end of the year, the São Paulo club has already disbursed 200 thousand euros (approximately R$ 1.19 million). Now, to keep Hugo Souza permanently, it will be necessary to pay 800 thousand euros (R$ 4.7 million).

In the Brasileirão match , played at the beginning of September, Corinthians had to pay R$500,000 so that Hugo Souza could play against Flamengo, a clause included in the goalkeeper's contract. However, Timão is now seeking to avoid further payments of this fine, which, if repeated in the two semi-final games, would total R$1 million.

Fabinho Soldado, football executive at Corinthians, explained that the club is working to guarantee Hugo's presence without the need for further disbursements. “We already made a payment in the first game of the Brazilian Championship, and the idea is to continue counting on Hugo. We have confidence in all our goalkeepers, but he arrived and established himself as a starter, so we hope he will be available for the two semi-final games”, said the manager.

Hugo Souza, who arrived at Alvinegro at the beginning of this year, played a decisive role in Timão's 2-1 victory over Mengão in the Brasileirão, in September. Although he did not avoid the penalty goal scored by Pedro, the goalkeeper stood out with important saves that guaranteed Corinthians' triumph against his former club.

Now, with the decisive games for the Copa do Brasil approaching, Corinthians is moving behind the scenes to ensure that Hugo Souza is available and continues to play a fundamental role in the squad.

Rafinha Alcântara, currently without a club since ending his contract with Al-Arabi, from Qatar, in July, made it clear that he has a great connection with Flamengo, even though he has never played in Brazilian football. In an interview with the program Que Partidazo, in 2019, the midfielder, who built his career internationally, revealed that he was a long-time fan of Mais Querido.

During the interview, the 31-year-old player, son of four-time champion Mazinho, recalled his career in European football, where he played for big clubs, such as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. But what caught the attention of Mengão fans was his confession that he dreams of one day wearing the CRF shirt.

“I do think about playing for Flamengo. Everyone knows that I'm a big fan and supporter of the club. I followed and was very happy with the Brasileirão and Libertadores titles. It’s a dream to wear the Flamengo shirt”, said Rafinha Alcântara, generating euphoria among the red and black fans.

After his public statement, Flamengo's board of directors even investigated the situation of the player, who at the time was still linked to European football and had no intention of returning to Brazil. Now, without a club and free on the market, Rafinha can arrive at the Rio club without transfer costs, but Mengão's directors do not seem to have the athlete as a priority at the moment.

Still, there is speculation that Rafinha Alcântara could be made official at Gávea for the 2025 season, depending on changes in the squad and technical committee, which is currently led by Tite.

Rafinha Alcântara began his career in Barcelona's youth teams, where he played until being promoted to the professional squad. Over the years, he has spent time at clubs such as Celta de Vigo, Inter Milan, Real Sociedad, as well as Paris Saint-Germain, where he played alongside Neymar. His last club was Al-Arabi, in Qatar, where he played 40 matches, scored nine goals and provided 10 assists.

Life is not easy for one of Flamengo's players. In this sense, we are talking about the striker Gabigol, who will have to equal the goal average of Erling Haaland, from Manchester City, to avoid having his lowest scoring season for Flamengo in 2024.

The number 99 scored so far just four goals in 26 games. In the last year of his contract, the 28-year-old player accumulated poor performances, lost space in the team and was also involved in off-field controversies. Currently, he is the last option in the position for the coaching staff.

His worst record for the club so far is 20 goals scored, which he had in 2023. In previous years, he found the net 29 times ( 2022), 34 times (2021), 27 times (2020) and 43 times (2019). His highest scoring season was precisely the first, when the player was on loan to Fla from Inter Milan.

To surpass last year's number, he would need an average of more of one goal per game — 15 clashes to come. At this moment, Flamengo has 16 more games confirmed until the end of the season, but Gabigol is already out of this Thursday's clash (19) against Peñarol, in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores. He had a thigh problem in the derby against Vasco, but it was not listed even without a diagnosed injury.

This performance is close to that recorded by the phenomenon Haaland. The City striker has already found the net ten times in eight games at the start of the European season, averaging 1.25 goals per game. Counting the entire year 2024, the Norwegian has 33 goals in 35 games — an average of 0.94, which would make Gabigol score 19 more times by the end of December. Haaland's average throughout his career is 0.84.

Counting all the possible matches that the Rubro-negro could have in 2024 (eight more), the average for Gabigol to at least equal his worst score in Fla could "drop" to at least 0.69 — he would need 16 goals in this projection with 23 more games. If the team led by Tite advances to the final of the Copa do Brasil and Libertadores, there would be five more games (average of 0.8). If Fla wins the continental tournament, it could have up to three more if it gets a place in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final.

2019: 43 goals in 59 games (average of 0.73)

2020: 27 goals in 43 games (average of 0.63)

2021: 34 goals in 45 games ( average of 0.76)

2022: 29 goals in 63 games (average of 0.46)

2023: 20 goals in 58 games (average of 0.34)

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2024: 4 goals in 26 games so far (average 0.15)