Nino’s Negotiations: What Happened Between Palmeiras and Fluminense?

In one of the soap operas of Brazilian football, Palmeiras and Fluminense were both keeping an eye on the same signing: defender Nino, who currently plays for Zenit in Russia. And, as in any good drama, it wasn’t that simple!

Behind the Scenes of the Negotiation

In a casual chat on the YouTube channel of former player Felipe Melo, who played alongside Nino at Fluminense, the defender shared some details about how the talks with Verdão went. According to Nino, in December of last year, both Palmeiras and Fluminense showed interest in bringing him in.

“As you know, I have a son, Antônio, who has Down syndrome. So we thought that being in Brazil would be better for his development,” Nino said, highlighting how his family influences his professional decisions. He went on to say that he has always kept the door open for clubs, but that the priority is the child’s well-being.

Zenit’s Role

The defender explained that at the time, Zenit had a very specific condition: they would only be willing to release Nino if the team managed to win a title. And guess what? The title only came in June! With that, Palmeiras couldn’t wait and ended up backing out of the deal.

After becoming champions, Zenit came back with a new proposal, but following its own terms. “Palmeiras even sent a representative to Russia to try to resolve the situation, but it didn’t work out,” Nino revealed.

Palmeiras’ Search

With Nino off the table, Palmeiras took another look at the market and didn’t stand still. They ended up signing Barboza, who was getting ready to say goodbye to Botafogo, for about R$ 20 million. Meanwhile, Zenit was asking for nearly R$ 120 million for the Brazilian defender. Nino is tied to Zenit until June of 2028, so his story in Europe is still a long way from over!

So, what did you think of this whole saga? Will we still see Nino playing for one of our Brazilian clubs in the future?