SAF manager responded to promise made in 2022 that the club would have “three, four players of Hulk’s caliber” per season
Businessman Rafael Menin was questioned last Saturday (6/7), during a press conference at Arena MRV, about a statement he made in May 2022, when Atlético was still planning to sell the Diamond Mall shopping mall to pay off debts. At the time, the manager of the club’s Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) stated that the deal would allow the signing of “three, four players of Hulk’s caliber per year”.
Three years later, with the mall sold and SAF underway, Menin was direct when asked about the promise. He said that Brazilian football has changed and that Galo’s current payroll reflects heavy investment. “Regarding the four Hulks, Brazilian football has changed substantially. Today, I can’t say names, but we have half a dozen players on Atlético’s roster who earn a salary very similar to what Hulk earned four years ago. That’s the first point,” he pondered.
Menin also responded to criticism about a possible weakening of the black and white squad. “Saying that the squad has been weakened year after year is just an opinion. I don’t think it was luck that we reached the finals of the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, and became six-time champions of Minas Gerais… In fact, 2021 was a wonderful year, a magical year. But last year, if the ball went in sometimes, it could have been just as good,” said the manager.
He then mentioned the incident in which Vargas – currently playing for Nacional, Uruguay – missed a goal that could have changed the final against Botafogo in the 2024 Libertadores. “In 2021, we won the Brazilian Championship and the Brazilian Cup. Last year, we could have won the Libertadores and the Brazilian Cup… If that ball from Vargas had gone in…”.
Regarding the club’s progress under SAF’s leadership, the manager disagrees with those who say there has been a setback: “I don’t agree that the club has gotten worse year after year. We made mistakes, we would like to win everything, but there’s no way.” In Menin’s opinion, Galo is part of a group of competitive clubs that won’t always dominate the scene, but will continue to compete for important titles.
“Galo is in a group of clubs that will do well in competitions, eventually win one, finish second, sometimes have a failure and be eliminated in the round of 16 by a small team… This will happen,” said Rafael Menin, manager of Atlético’s SAF.
Despite the fans’ frustration after losing finals in 2024, Menin reinforced that the SAF’s goal remains to deliver a competitive team. “The work is to ensure that the team has a competitive and strong team. Now, repeating 2021 every year is impossible. We never said that Galo will win everything,” he concluded.
