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Every time a Brazilian club starts standing out too much, the local media begins to wonder how it would be if the team played in a European league.

Flamengo have built a super squad this season, managed by former Benfica boss Jorge Jesus, who recently said they could make it to the top six in the Premier League.

To test it, ESPN Brasil thought it would be a good idea to compare Flamengo’s team player by player with some Premier League sides. One of them was Everton.

ESPN’s comparison was between Everton’s 2018/19 team and Flamengo’s 2019 squad. The Toffees’ lineup was made as Jordan Pickford, Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Lucas Digne, Morgan Schneiderlin, André Gomes, Bernard, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

And Flamengo’s current team goes as Diego Alves, Rafinha, Rodrigo Caio, Pablo Mari, Filipe Luís, Willian Arão, Gerson, Éverton Ribeiro, Arrascaeta, Bruno Henrique and Gabigol.

After comparing player by player, the lineup stayed as: Pickford, Rafinha, Keane, Mina, Filipe Luís, Gerson, Willian Arão, Éverton Ribeiro, Arrascaeta, Richarlison, Gabigol. Ironically, Marco Silva was picked over Jorge Jesus.

Once they tweeted their video, Toffees striker Richarlison was quick replying to it, sending them a gif of Balotelli spitting out his drink.

The spit wasn’t all of the provocation. Flamengo, who are the biggest rivals of Fluminense, Richarlison’s former club, had a failed attempt to sign Balotelli this summer.

 

ESPN also compared Flamengo to Manchester United later, and it became a joke on social media during the day.

These comparisons weren’t the most absurd thing on Brazilian sport TV on Monday. Former Porto player and Champions League winner Carlos Alberto, who now works at Fox Sports, said Real Madrid couldn’t win the Brazilian second division.

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