A week ago, West Ham United had an agreement in place to sign Fabricio Bruno from Flamengo. The Brazilian media speculated whether he would play a farewell match in the city derby against Vasco da Gama on Sunday.
However, Bruno ultimately rejected the move to the Hammers after failing to reach a personal agreement with the English club. He started in last night’s 6-1 victory over their arch-rivals, showing confidence that he will remain at Flamengo for now.
Following the match, Flamengo vice-president Marcos Braz spoke to the local media, with Globo Esporte featuring his comments about the agreement with West Ham and Bruno’s decision to stay.
“It was a pleasant surprise for us. The money was good, but I prefer Fabricio here. For us, it changes absolutely nothing. Of course, the money would be good, and we’d have to go to the market to buy another player, but there’s no problem. We’re very happy here, and we’re really happy that Fabricio Bruno is staying on.
“Flamengo listened to his agents, who look after Fabricio’s career. They told us the player was interested in going to England. We sat down, as we do with everyone, and Flamengo made a deal with the team. Subsequently, there was no agreement between the club and the player. This is rare because usually when you come to talk to the club, the player’s situation is already advanced.”
Reports from Brazil last week indicated that West Ham offered Bruno a similar salary to what he earns at Flamengo but on a shorter contract. He also had to consider the higher cost of living in London compared to Rio de Janeiro. With the negotiations now collapsed, it remains to be seen if another English club will pursue the center-back in the coming months.
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