Jorge Jesus Questions Flamengo Reinier Jesus Value Amid Real Madrid Rumours
January 6, 2020
Flamengo manager Jorge Jesus believes the club are undervaluing their starlet Reinier Jesus amid continued links to Real Madrid.
The 17-year-old is considered one of the best prospects in Brazil and has shone in his outings for the club this season.
Los Blancos are reportedly interested in landing the player in a possible €30 million (£25.5 million) transfer. Speaking to CMTV (h/t Jaime Candil of AS), Jesus said that Flamengo should be getting more money for a player of his talent:
"You can't sell a player like Reinier for €30 million! At Benfica, players would be sold for more than they were actually worth. Flamengo doesn't know how to price their players on their true value."
The player was asked about a possible transfer recently and said "let's wait and see," per Marca.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have also reportedly shown an interest in the teenager, but it's Real Madrid who appear set to win the race for the Brazilian youth international.
With so many high-profile clubs said to be in the hunt for the youngster, for Los Blancos it would be a coup to secure his signature.
The Reliquias Brasileiras Twitter account provided some of the numbers from Reinier's first season in senior football:
Reliquias Brasileiras🇧🇷 @reliquiasbr17 years old Reinier on his debut league season: 14 games(started 8) Scoring frequency 118 minutes 6 goals 2 assists 0.7 key passes per game 0.6 dribbles per game(80%) One of the most talented players coming from the brazilian football. Impressive debut season🌟🇧🇷 https://t.co/vqZ5e9Hv6w
Although he's still in the infancy of his career, it's clear from his early appearances that the youngster has a spark.
Whether playing from the flank or behind a striker, Reinier is so fluid with the ball at his feet, able to dribble past opponents with ease and knit play together with his sharp passing.
If the transfer goes through, the youngster will join a huge crop of attacking midfielders at the Santiago Bernabeu:
He will also join compatriots Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr., who were both snapped up by Madrid at a young age. Both Brazilian stars are still seeking to cement their status as first-team regulars in Zinedine Zidane's squad.
If Reinier does move on it would be a blow for Flamengo, although the team are in good hands under the tutelage of Jesus. They won the Copa Libertadores in 2019 and are blessed with a number of quality attacking players including Everton Ribeiro and Bruno Henrique.