Both Vidal and Flamengo have confirmed that an agreement is in place for the midfielder to join the Brazilian side on a short-term deal. Vidal left Inter Milan at the end of the previous season and has now signed on a free transfer for the Mengao on a one-and-a-half-year contract, which will run until December 2023.
The 35-year-old confirmed the same through a social media post he released via his Instagram.
“Today a dream I had all my life comes true. Now I am Mengão,”
he wrote in the post.
The player becomes Flamengo’s second major signing of the summer. Last month, the Brazilian giants confirmed the capture of Everton Cebolinha from SL Benfica in a 13.5 million euro deal, two years after they had sold the Brazil international to the Portuguese giants themselves.
Vidal and Everton strengthen a Flamengo side that already has the likes of David Luiz, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Gabigol. They are currently placed ninth in the Brazilian league, but one that finds itself cruising through the rounds in other cup competitions.
The Mengao are through to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Copa Libertadores, where they will face rivals Corinthians for a spot in the last four. They also find themselves in the last eight of the Copa do Brasil after a 3-2 aggregate win over Atletico Mineiro.
Flamengo will hope that despite his relatively advanced age, Vidal brings with him the European pedigree he accumulated following a decade-and-a-half-long career across the Atlantic.
Vidal, who joined Bayer Leverkusen from his boyhood club Colo-Colo in 2007, would go on to play for Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Internazionale during his storied career, winning nine league titles in three countries and several other pieces of silverware.
Vidal had been at Inter for the past two seasons, one of which ended in title triumph under his former Juve manager Antonio Conte. He leaves the Nerazzurri with a record of 71 appearances across 24 months and four goals.
