Zico declares his support in the Flamengo elections

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.

One of Flamengo's presidential candidates, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, better known as BAP, announced that the club's possible new stadium should cost approximately R$2.5 billion. The project, which aims to build an arena in the Gasometer region, in the center of Rio de Janeiro, foresees a capacity for 70 thousand fans. The statement was given in an exclusive interview with Lance!, as part of a series with all the candidates for the red-black election, scheduled for December this year.

BAP, when estimating the value of R$ 2.5 billion for the construction, highlighted that the club will face legal challenges regarding the acquisition of the land, which belonged to a fund administered by Caixa Econômica Federal and was expropriated by Rio City Hall. He believes that there will be a legal imbroglio over the area, but he was confident in overcoming these obstacles.

“I estimate that a stadium of 70 thousand seats will cost around R$2.5 billion. I am absolutely sure that there will be a legal battle, because, in Brazil, this ends up being politically influenced as well. We hope that, with the team we have, we can overcome these challenges and find a solution that benefits all parties involved — Caixa, the Caixa fund, the City Hall, the State government, the fans and Flamengo”, stated the candidate .

Another point addressed by Luiz Eduardo Baptista was his opposition to the purchase of Leixões, a second division club in Portugal. The CRF is in negotiations to acquire the Portuguese team with the aim of strengthening the club's internationalization, but BAP was vehemently against the idea.

“Flamengo gains absolutely nothing from this. It's a waste of time and energy, a terrible idea for the moment the club is going through. If I am elected, at whatever stage this project is at, it will be immediately cancelled”, he declared.

The election to choose the club's new president will take place in December and will define who will lead Flamengo for the next three years. BAP is one of the strong names in the electoral race and seeks to implement a modernization project, focusing on the club's infrastructure and finances.