Ronaldo would only make Flamengo bench, says president
Flamengo president Rodolfo Landim admits it would be a "dream" to sign Neymar but doubts his club's chances, while claiming Cristiano Ronaldo would be a bench player for the Brazilian side.
Neymar is set to star for Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where the South American giant is seeking to end a 20-year wait to win the tournament for a sixth time.
The 30-year-old, who has spent nine years in Europe since leaving Santos for Barcelona in 2013, has an uncertain future with Paris Saint-Germain, which was reportedly open to letting him leave prior to this season.
Flamengo has been linked with a sensational move to bring Neymar back to South America, with Manchester United's Ronaldo also linked, but Landim believes such moves are highly unlikely.
"I don't know how much Neymar earns – I've heard that it will be close to €4 million [$6.2 million] per month," he said.
"If we consider that amount, he will not want to come to Flamengo given what I will be able to offer him, within the wage structure.
"He will have a better proposal from outside. It's natural, it's the market.
"There are clubs with much bigger budgets than Flamengo that will be interested in an exceptional player like Neymar.
"Having Neymar would be a dream for any club in Brazil, I have no doubts, but I think he will play outside of Brazil for some time because he is exceptional.
"The clubs that can pay salaries of exceptional players like him are abroad."
The Flamengo president was also asked about potentially signing Ronaldo, but he declared he would only get a spot on the bench.
He added: "I don't know where people get this from. They have a lot of creativity.
"We would hire him in substitution to whom? I want to ask you all, who would you take out of our team for him to play?
"I saw online, I am not sure if that is true, he would have received an offer of $242 million for a two-year contract. If you take $242 million and divide it by 24 months, it is around $10 million per month.
"This is way over all Flamengo's pay cheque just for Cristiano Ronaldo to be on the bench waiting for Pedro and Gabigol."