Attacking midfielder Daniel Jr, 21, was introduced at Akhmat Grozny, in Russia, the club he will defend after being loaned by Cruzeiro. To obtain the young man’s transfer, the Russians agreed to pay R$1 million to Raposa. The player’s contract runs until June 2024 and has a purchase option. Danielzinho’s rights, as he is known, are divided between the Minas Gerais team and Palmeiras, the team where the former 48 Celeste shirt took his first steps in football.
For Daniel Jr to continue in Russian football after the end of his loan contract, Akhmat Grozny will need to pay 1 million euros (R$ 5.3 million at current prices), thus acquiring 70% of the player, leaving him with 35 % of the rights belonging to Cruzeiro and another 35% to Palmeiras. If the definitive transfer takes place, the Brazilian duo will share the amount.
Troubled exit
Daniel Jr left Cruzeiro after losing space with Portuguese Pepa, the coach fired at the end of August. In 2023, the midfielder played just ten games, five of them in the Campeonato Mineiro, still with Paulo Pezzolano, where he scored one goal. With Pepa, there were five matches, four for the Brasileirão and one for the Copa do Brasil.
Even with the same number of participations, the player’s score was quite discrepant. Under Pezzolano’s command, Daniel played more than 220 minutes, being a starter twice and a substitute on three occasions. Pepa, in turn, has never used the number 48 shirt since the start of a match, placing it in the final minutes of the five clashes in question. The midfielder played approximately 67 minutes.
Daniel Jr played for the last time with the Cruzeiro shirt on June 21st, when he came on in the 39th minute of the second half against Fortaleza, in a match that ended in a 1-0 victory for Leão, at Mineirão. and was unavailable for a few weeks, returning in August.
Daniel Jr liked a post criticizing Pepa
Before leaving Cruzeiro, Daniel Jr liked a post on Instagram that criticized the then coach Pepa and called him an “enemy of the base”. The incident happened one day after the heavy defeat to Grêmio, in a match valid for the 21st round of the Brazilian Championship, played on August 27th.
The liked post was on the Instagram of Geral Celeste, one of Cruzeiro’s organizers, and criticized the fact that Pepa did not give opportunities to players trained at the Raposa academy, with an illustrative photo of the number 48 and mentioning him by name.
— Pepa! Enemy of the base! If there’s one person who could at least be coming into the games to help us, it’s @danieljr__10. But the coach prefers to just take him for a walk around Brazil!
Torcida Geral Celeste, on Instagram
One of Cruzeiro’s young promises, Daniel Jr, who stands out for his dribbling and skill, was trained at Palmeiras and arrived at the celestial club in 2021, for the under-20s. His professional debut for Raposa took place in 2022, with Uruguayan coach Paulo Pezzolano. Last year, the midfielder played 34 games, scoring four goals and providing four assists.
Russians are interested in Marlon
Left-back Marlon, 26 years old, one of Cruzeiro’s highlights this season, received a million-dollar offer from Dynamo Moscow, in Russia. The values offered to acquire the player would be around 5 million euros (R$ 26.5 million at current prices). The information was provided by goal and confirmed by the report of the Football in the Vein.
Although the value offered is considered good, Cruzeiro and Marlon do not view the negotiation favorably at the moment. The celestial club believes that the left-back can gain even more value in 2024 and the player has the desire to fulfill his contract, which runs until the end of 2025, at Raposa. The Russian transfer window is open until Thursday (14/9) and, therefore, the deal is unlikely to happen.
