Brazilian giants Flamengo have publicly attacked Cristiano Ronaldo’s Almeria over the unpaid fee for Lazaro Vinicius, who signed for the Andalusian club in 2022. They said that the money they claimed has been close to two years ago.
Almeria agreed €7m for Lazaro, who arrived as a promising youngster from Brasileirao. Arriving at the end of the 2022 transfer window, Lazaro spent 18 months at Almeria in La Liga as they battled relegation, successfully in his first campaign. In total, he made 58 appearances for Almeria, scoring seven goals and providing one assist, failing to nail down a starting spot in his time. In February of 2024, Lazaro briefly returned to Palmeiras in Brazil, and spent part of the season in Segunda at the Juegos Mediterraneos stadium. Last summer, he moved to Al-Najma in Saudi Arabia for €5m.
Flamengo wants to deliberately not pay Lazaro’s money
In a long statement, Flamengo says that the 1.8 million euro fee for his move to Almeria was due for 590 days. Referring to the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo recently acquired 25% of the club in a deal with Saudi Arabian owner Mohamed Al-Khereji. ‘Fla’ asserts that Almeria has deliberately prevented payment of legal smoking screens. They announced that they have taken Almeria to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to resolve the matter.
Ronaldo’s involvement is very little, but by including him, the issue gets more attention. Equally, having invested in the club, and with his salary in Saudi Arabia paying the bill several times a week, there can be no pretense of cash flow problems.
Flamengo’s official statement on social media
LEGAL NOTICE
ALMERIA OWE FLAMENGO ALMOST €1.8M FOR 590 DAYS
In February, the athlete Cristiano Ronaldo acquired 25% of the Spanish club
The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo publicly expresses its rejection of the behavior adopted by the Spanish club UD Almeria, due to the breach of the contractual obligation taken from the transfer of the athlete Lázaro, made in August 2022. After 590 days in a state of non-payment, the club has an amount of approximately 8 euros in payment. not respecting the signed commitments and rules governing relations in international football.
The case is objective and immutable: there is a clear contractual obligation that gives the Spanish club the obligation to pay or reimburse the taxes applied in Spain. However, even after Flamengo was forced to take the said amounts – for more than 1.5 million euros – and following the official decision of FIFA that fully recognized its right to return, Almería chooses not to comply with its obligation. The debt after 590 days of non-payment exceeds €1.8m.
Instead, it takes a repeated stance of resistance, relying on the services of procedures of a very disruptive nature, which clearly contradict the principles of good faith, contractual fidelity, and integrity that should govern the relationship between clubs in international football.
This is not a one-time violation of the law, but a conscious and deliberate behavior of procrastination that undermines the legal certainty of contractual relations in football and undermines the integrity of the system.
Flamengo hopes that the competent bodies, especially the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), will provide an appropriate response to this behavior, ensuring compliance with the decisions already issued within the scope of FIFA and compliance with the assumed obligations.
The club will remain firm in protecting its rights and in protecting the integrity of contractual relationships in football, warning and demanding a strong response from clubs, associations, and regulators.
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
