Due to transfer from 2022
©IMAGO
Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro attacks the Spanish second division team UD Almería in a public statement. The Brazilians are demanding legal consequences for the club where superstar Cristiano Ronaldo recently bought himself. The background is a payment dispute following the transfer of the now 24-year-old winger Lázaro almost four years ago. Accordingly, Almería’s debts to Flamengo have now accumulated to almost 2 million euros.
“Flamengo publicly and decisively condemns the behavior of the Spanish club UD Almería,” said a statement from the Brazilians, who accused the then LaLiga promoted team of breach of contract. “By defaulting on payments by 590 days, the club has accumulated debts estimated at over 1.8 million euros, thereby blatantly disregarding the commitments made and the rules of international football.”
For the Brazilian first division club, the case is “objective and clear”: there is a contractual agreement with Almería that regulates the reimbursement of taxes collected in Spain. In 2022, Almería paid a transfer fee of 7 million euros for Lázaro, who left the team shortly before relegation in 2024 and is now active in Saudi Arabia. FIFA “fully confirmed” the reimbursement of the tax burden – at that time 1.5 million euros. But Almería doesn’t pay.
“Clear disregard for principles”
Instead, according to the South Americans, the Spanish “adopted a repeated posture of resistance, using procedural tactics of a decidedly delaying nature, in clear disregard of the principles of good faith, contractual loyalty and integrity.” It is not a one-off late payment, but “a conscious and deliberate act of delay that weakens the legal security of contractual relationships in football and endangers the credibility of the system.” Flamengo ultimately appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to “respond appropriately to this behavior.”
Flamengo also used Ronaldo’s name casually in his message; possibly to increase public awareness. Ronaldo acquired 25 percent of the shares in UD Almería in February of this year. Lázaro’s transfer and the alleged delay in paying the tax debt happened before his time, but will probably continue to concern the 41-year-old professional from now on. The club has been in the hands of the Saudi entrepreneur Mohammad Al-Khereiji since the summer of 2025. Ronaldo’s involvement is no coincidence; There is said to be a close relationship between the businessman and the Portuguese. Almería has a good chance of promotion in LaLiga2.
