He is an 18-year-old Flamengo footballer who has played in only seven professional football games for the Rio de Janeiro club. But even so, he instills the red-black fan with high hopes.
The young player received praise from the owner of a rival club for the younger teams’ strong results, which also piqued the curiosity of a significant team in German football. Want to know about whom we are speaking?
Matheus França is a promise from the red-black base
Matheus França de Oliveira, an attacking midfielder for Flamengo, is the subject of our discussion. On April 1, 2004, the red-black player was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is right-footed and 1.82 metres tall. Since the under-15 division, the athlete has defended the Rio de Janeiro team.
He played on the field for the professional team just seven times (scoring two goals), but he was excellent for Flamengo’s youth divisions. He verifies his statistics, for instance, for games played last year involving the under-17 and under-20 age groups.
Category | Games | Goals | Assists | Participation in goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-17 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Sub-20 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Total | 32 | 19 | 3 | 22 |
The owner of SAF do Botafogo, John Textor, and the German football club Bayer Leverkusen were both impressed by his impressive stats for Flamengo’s youth teams.
Botafogo owner praises Matheus França
The SAF do Botafogo’s owner, American millionaire John Textor, lauded offensive midfielder Matheus França in a recent interview for “GE” while discussing the next Brazilian football stars. However, the Carioca Club made no attempt to try and make a march on the player.
“In Brazil, you can see how quickly a player may go from the under-20 level or squad B to the Serie A. in addition to other clubs, not only our club. Recently, I saw a fantastic young player (Franca) compete for Flamengo,” said Textor.
Bayer Leverkusen can already take the player
If Botafogo didn’t attempt, foreign teams would! According to a recent rumour from the “GE” site, the youthful red-black talent may soon be the target of strong interest from Bayer Leverkusen of the German first division.
Flamengo, though, shouldn’t sell the player for too little, given their background in the industry. For instance, Urubu achieved outstanding sales in 2017 (approximately R$164 million at the time) to Vincius Junior and Real Madrid.
The organization, which has superstars like Gabigol and Arrascaeta on its roster, is anticipating a bid of at least € 15 million (about R$ 83 million) to “start the negotiations”. It is anticipated that the Germans will soon be allowed to send representatives to Brazil.
Player renewed his contract recently
Flamengo’s board of directors was wary about potential football fans because of Matheus França’s tall size and exceptional ball handling. As a result, the red-black diamond extended its contract with Urubu in January of that year.
📝🤝 Na tarde desta terça-feira, o atleta Matheus França renovou o contrato com o Mais Querido até abril de 2027. #VamosFlamengo
📸: Gabriel Nuffer/CRF pic.twitter.com/bIEHP3DG3m
— Flamengo (@Flamengo) January 25, 2022
The contract increased the player’s pay, and it’s good until April 2027. The athlete then joined the professional club. For foreign teams who wish to acquire his services, the termination fee is €100 million).
Other young talents from Flamengo
Check out some of the youthful talents Flamengo currently has on its professional squad in the list below.
- Hugo Souza (23 years old goalkeeper);
- Matheus Cunha (21 years old goalkeeper);
- Cleiton (19 years old defender);
- João Gomes (21-year-old steering wheel);
- Lazaro (mid 20s).
Want to keep up with the best prospects and rising stars in Brazilian football? Pay attention to Sambafoot!
