Sports
Flamengo Agrees to Sell Ryan Roberto to Shakhtar Donetsk
A €10 million deal secures 70% for the club and boosts its yearly transfer budget target.
Flamengo has finalized the sale of youngster Ryan Roberto to Shakhtar Donetsk for €10 million. The Brazilian club retains 70% of the fee, making significant progress toward its seasonal transfer revenue target.
Flamengo has agreed terms for the sale of forward Ryan Roberto to Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk for €10 million. The news was first reported by journalist Venê Casagrande, with only the final signatures pending to make the deal official. The Brazilian club holds 70% of the player's economic rights, securing €7 million from the transfer.
At 18 years of age, the right-footed left winger was entering the final months of his contract and had expressed a desire to leave. As Bernardo Ramos analyzes in the video above, the deal prevented the player from leaving on a free transfer in the future, which could have potentially strengthened a domestic rival in Brazilian football.
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Impact on the transfer target
The revenue is vital for Flamengo's finances, as the club set a sales target of R$ 256 million for the year. Prior to this deal, outgoing transfers had generated R$ 47 million from the departures of Iago, Victor Hugo, and Juninho. With roughly R$ 42 million coming from Ryan Roberto's cut, the club moves closer to R$ 90 million raised in player sales.
According to Bernardo, the pressure to meet the R$ 256 million target could prompt Flamengo to sell first-team players over the course of the season, rather than relying solely on academy products.
Academy performance and financial context
In Bernardo's view, the academy's primary mission is to develop players with technical quality and market value, rather than merely winning trophies. Even though the club won two U-20 Intercontinental titles, few major sales emerged from that generation, pointing to names like Lorran, who joined Pisa, and the sale of Iago, alongside promising prospects like Paulo Lúcio and Guilherme.
Revenue figures continue at the high levels of previous years, driven by notable transfer business. Last year, the sales of Wesley to Roma and Gerson to Zenit brought in €25 million each. Combined with over R$ 150 million earned from the FIFA Club World Cup, Flamengo finished the previous financial year with total revenue reaching R$ 2.08 billion.
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