After Flamengo’s victory over Chelsea FC, the Brazilians were jubilant. The winner even took a little jab on social media—with support from Konami.
The second match day of the Club World Cup in the US had two big surprises in store for Brazil: Not only did Botafogo beat reigning Champions League winners Paris St. Germain, but Chelsea FC also suffered defeat at the hands of Flamengo, a team from Copacabana.
The celebrations among the men from Rio de Janeiro were naturally huge after the minor sensation – and were reflected on X in a creative side swipe. Flamengo’s English-language account posted a results graphic showing a fake version of the London club’s logo instead of the real Chelsea crest. “Easy win against London Blue,” commented the South American club’s social media team.
Community reacts enthusiastically
The background to this little dig, which had already been viewed a good twelve million times and garnered over 300,000 likes at the time of publication, is Konami’s soccer simulation eFootball. Chelsea FC is not officially licensed in this game. The top English team therefore has to make do with names, crests, and other elements designed by Konami.
Flamengo, on the other hand, is part of the fully licensed Brazilian league and is one of the teams authentically represented in eFootball. As is Chelsea’s big city rival, Arsenal FC. The Gunners are one of only two Premier League clubs, alongside Manchester United, whose licenses Konami has been able to secure. This could be another reason for the video game-based teasing.
Konami loses licenses
However, it remains to be seen how well the Flamengo post will age. The Japanese company is currently struggling with license losses. After recently losing the first Mexican league with the exception of four clubs, eFootball also had to cope with the departure of FC Bayern Munich. The authentic representation of the German record champions will disappear from the game at the end of June.