Flamengo president Rodolfo Landim insists that he wouldn’t swap free-scoring Leeds target Pedro even for Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo if offered the chance to sign the Premier League legend, speaking to Portal IG.
There cannot be many footballers who have enjoyed a better 2022 than Pedro. The striker’s annus mirabilis capped by a Copa Libertadores winners’ medal; he has a remarkable 29 goals in all competitions for Flamengo and now looks very well placed to secure a place in Brazil’s squad for the Qatar World Cup.
In fact, Pedro has been in such terrific form that, given the choice, Flamengo’s president wouldn’t even exchange him for the most prolific club goalscorer of all time.
“From what I’ve read, (Ronaldo) was offered 242 million dollars for a two-year contract (at Al-Hilal),” Landim says; highlighting reports linking Man United’s number seven with a money-spinning move to the Middle East.
“Divided by 24 months, that’s about 10 million dollars a month; a value far above the entire salary sheet of Flamengo.
“(Would we sign him) to be Pedro’s substitute? Nobody here is going to do crazy things. There is no possibility.”
Flamengo’s Pedro is one of the hottest strikers in the world right now
Hitting the target 12 times in just 13 games, Pedro now has the difficult task of finding room on his mantelpiece for the Copa Libertadores’ Golden Boot, as well as a shiny new winners’ medal.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Leeds United have been monitoring the £15 million-rated Pedro ‘for a long time’. Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and Fulham also showed an interest over the summer, per Tuttomercatoweb. Ditto Southampton and Wolves (Guillem Balague).
Since then, Pedro has taken his game to an all-new level. He opened his account for the Brazilian national team during the September international break. He’s also scored three hat-tricks in all competitions. That includes a five-minute treble against Red Bull Bragantino a couple of weeks ago.
With Leeds looking to provide some much-needed competition for a rusty Patrick Bamford, Salernitana’s Boulaye Dia, PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo and Red Bull Salzburg’s Noah Okafor are also under consideration heading into the January transfer window.
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