Flamengo’s €40m European raid: The transfer window winners you didn’t see coming

Robin Bairner

• 13 Aug 2025 13:30 BST
• 5 min read

Analysis

When the European transfer window closes on 1 September, the inevitable question will be asked: who won it? Big-spending Premier League sides Liverpool and Chelsea will be popular answers.

But look past the obvious and cast your eyes across the Atlantic. In Brazil, Flamengo have quietly engineered one of the most audacious squad overhauls of the summer - signing household European names, strengthening every line of the pitch, and, remarkably, almost doubling their money in the process.

Spearheading this quietly remarkable window have been head coach star Filipe Luis, a former star at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid, and Jose Boto, a transfer market strategist who has a history of turning smart bets into a fortune.

With Copa Libertadores action returning against Internacional on Wednesday, Flamengo’s new-look squad, bolstered by the arrivals of Saul Niguez, Emerson Royal, Samuel Lino and Jorge Carrascal, could get its first run out.

A growing financial power

Boto began Flamengo’s rebuild in the European winter when he signed former Real Madrid and Manchester City centre-back Danilo as a free agent from Juventus. Another major coup was completed when Jorginho agreed to return to his birthland as a free agent from Arsenal.

But repatriating a couple of veterans has just been the start of the plan.

Flamengo are a side with growing financial clout. It is the sole club from outside Europe that ranked in the latest Deloitte Money League, coming in 30th with €198 million in revenue. The only other team from outside of Europe’s Big 5 leagues to merit inclusion was Benfica, another club to benefit from his transfer wizardry.

This is quite the turnaround from a club that was drowning in debt little over a decade ago. With business practices revolutionised, Flamengo are now working like an outfit with Brazil’s biggest fanbase – and the rewards are starting to come.

Having stabilised the project financially, this summer marks the first truly ambitious transfer moves.

It’s not been about bringing back former stars to use Brazil’s Serie A as a retirement home; it’s been about bringing in talents who are at the peak of their powers.

Sporting director Boto making the impossible reality

Jose Boto is central to this project. A former chief scout at Benfica and sporting director at Shakhtar Donetsk, two clubs renowned for their ability to spot and develop talent, he is tasked with doing much the same at Flamengo.

Indeed, insiders have stressed the impact he has had in making the big summer moves happen. The deals may have taken time – something that Flamengo fans have not appreciated – but they have been almost unprecedented in their quality.

Speaking about the difficulties in signing Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid, Boto admitted to the media: “He was always the player we had in mind. The deal went from impossible to very difficult to possible. And today he’s here with us.

“We had a conversation a few weeks ago to explain Flamengo's project, and he said ‘yes’. I know it's not easy to say ‘yes’ when there are top-tier European clubs chasing him. I know it's not easy, but fortunately, he's here.”

The €22m deal for Samuel Lino, meanwhile, is Flamengo’s biggest ever while Jorge Carrascal’s move from Dynamo Moscow also makes the top 10.

These moves have been fuelled by the player trading model the club has in place. A total of €72m has been raised by the sales of Carlos Alcaraz to Everton, Gerson to Zenit and Wesley to Roma. With bonuses, this could rise to €80m.

Boto showed at Benfica he is a specialist in the player trading game. A stream of players arrived for €10m or less but were sold for multiple times that figure. He was central to deals for Jan Oblak, Nemanja Matic, Axel Witsel, Angel Di Maria, Bernardo Silva and countless more.

Of course, there have been bumps in the road. Brazilian football is notoriously prickly from a political standpoint, with the board’s decision to veto a move for Ireland winger Mikey Johnston causing particular consternation.

But with the Copa Libertadores last 16 finally rolling round, Flamengo have earmarked themselves as a team to watch, with Boto’s ambitious project finally ready for take-off.