Saul Niguez has been playing for Flamengo since the summer. Now the 30-year-old has spoken about his experiences in Brazil—and about the problems in the country that has won the World Cup five times.
For many years, 17 to be precise, Saul Niguez was a player for Atlético Madrid. The midfielder celebrated great successes with the Colchoneros, winning the Europa League twice, among other things, as a 19-time Spanish international. However, things did not always go well for him in Madrid, so he played for Chelsea FC between 2021 and 2022, winning the World Cup with the Blues, and was also on loan at Sevilla last season. Even before his loan to Sevilla, there were signs that he had no future at Atlético. Last summer, the now 30-year-old decided to make an unusual move away from Europe, signing for Brazilian top club Flamengo Rio de Janeiro. He plays regularly there and has already made 21 competitive appearances for his new club—including starting in the 2-1 defeat to Fluminense. But his impressions are not all positive, as he has now made clear.
Referees and pitch conditions are the biggest drawbacks
“Brazil lags far behind Europe in terms of the quality of referees and pitches – far, very far,” he said in an interview with Brazilian sports portal Lance! adding: “Especially when we talk about referees. Everything is completely different here. The standard is much lower compared to Europe. And I don’t just mean Spain, because I don’t think they have the best referees in the world, but also compared to England, to the Champions League. Here, for example, Memphis Depay received a yellow card for stepping on the ball! Many things here don’t make sense to me.”
But it’s not just the performance of the referees that is a thorn in the Spaniard’s side, but also the pitch conditions. “In the best league, you should have the best pitches so that soccer can develop properly. The pitch at the Marakana Stadium, for example, shouldn’t be so hard that it feels like artificial turf. You can’t play like that, the ball doesn’t behave normally.” For Saul, this is also the reason why “the quality of soccer” in Brazil “seems worse than it actually is.”
The Spaniard also believes that the Brazilian Football Confederation has a responsibility in this regard. “There are clubs that cannot afford to build new pitches. The league should help them, as has been done in Spain.” Things have changed considerably there in recent years, “as a fund has been set up to support the clubs. From this fund, the clubs have received money for new pitches, training centers, or stadiums.“
Saul also addressed all European soccer players who are considering moving to Brazil. ”They need to know what to expect, that there are pitches that we don’t have here.”