From love to hate in less than a year: Arturo Vidal’s turbulent 357 days in Flamengo

That between Arturo Vidal and Flamengo is compared to those intense relationships that go from extreme love to hatred in a short time. The hint is correct: the King chose the biggest team in Brazil, with which he had flirted long before July 18, 2022, when he was officially presented to the club, after the end of his contractual relationship with the InterMilan. He had been welcomed by a star. Hundreds of fans were waiting for him at Galeao airport, in Rio de Janeiro, to offer him a welcome that lived up to his curls and, above all, his expectations. He had recently successfully completed his stint through Europe and arrived at the top level of competition in South America as a true rock star.

The king finalizes his departure from Mengao. He failed to last even a year in the most popular team in the world, considering its more than 40 million fans. And it’s not going the way I expected. First, because his stay was less than he had expected. And then, because he leaves without the recognition he hoped to obtain from the curve . Nor has he achieved the property he still claims . Even the presence of Jorge Sampaoli, whom he helped win the Copa América with La Roja in 2015, did not serve as support. The man from Casilda had no concessions with whom, at the time, in the national team, he had some.

Vidal tried not to criticize Sampaoli for the decision not to keep him in the starting XI. Who did it is his girlfriend, Sonia Isaza. The Colombian wasn’t ashamed of the coach’s responsibility for the King’s postponement. “Because there is a very bad trainer! he replied to a fan who asked why the midfielder was not playing in the Rio de Janeiro team.

It had been a long time since the king had stayed in the wonderful city it was precisely the opposite of the adjective that completes the nickname by which Rio is known around the world. The fans had lost patience. The reproaches, in fact, began almost with 2023. At the end of January, the journalist Renato Maurício Prado was already risking the end of the midfielder’s stay at the club. “Vidal is an active former player. There is nothing left to deliver “said the communicator. “Flamengo must get rid of him “, he condemned.

Before the start of the Club World Cup, Vidal was sanctioned for indiscipline. Through his Twitch channel, he had offered to play for Colo Colo in the Copa Libertadores, but under certain conditions. “If Colo Colo wants to fight in the Copa Libertadores, come get me with a kick and we’ll go “, said. In addition, he was in the chapel for his attitude during the duel against Boavista, for the Brazilian Cup, when he threw his shoes in a sign of annoyance for not having entered the field of play . Then he apologized.”I want to apologize for my reaction in yesterday’s game, not entering the field “, he wrote on Instagram.

The disagreements continued. At the beginning of February, when the reason for criticism was the early elimination from international competition, after the defeat against Al-Hilal, Vidal came out to counterattack. “If you’re not getting reviews, you’re not at the top. I’ve been criticized for 25 years because I’m number one “, he posted, using a phrase from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He added, in passing, his personal quota. “Only the greatest criticize “, he exposed. At that time, even in Spain, they reveled in his performance and reminded him of the threats against Real Madrid before the tournament. These provocations had been criticized by a flamenco legend: Zico. “The fans are singing (provocations at Real Madrid) okay, I don’t see any problem. Fans are fans, that’s normal. What professionals can’t do is do it. You have to be respectful, especially with a team like Real Madrid “, expresses the caption.

While at Fla, Vidal came to coin an expression typical of Brazilians: “Donkey”. The Spanish translation is the same and tries to categorize people who lack intelligence or, at least, who do not use it. The qualifier was received by Sampaoli in May, when he decided to exclude Erick Pulgar, the other Chilean from the team, from the field in favor of Vidal.

The King had made it his own, of course, in the opposite direction. In early June, for example, he responded to a fan who blamed him for his low level. “Yes 16 in Europe, win it all, donkey “He smiled at him. Before, he had highlighted Flamengo’s triumph over Fluminense, for the round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup. The fan had no mercy with Vidal, who had not played that engagement. “You played a lot today, keep it up! “, the fan had written to him, regarding his replacement, a condition that Vidal did not tolerate in any of the clubs he joined and which is most likely the cause of his decision to leave the team of which he had declared himself fan.

In May, he had already had another meeting with tornadoes. On his return from Chile, where Flamengo had equaled only against Ñublense, in a duel for the Copa Libertadores, a supporter attacked him, precisely demanding that he return to national football. “For God’s sake,” he added. “Now it’s easy to talk,” he replied, after being told he was weak in football.