OFFICIAL: Pedro loaned to Flamengo

We knew it was coming for weeks, but today marked the official announcement of Pedro’s departure for Brazilian club Flamengo, capping a month of furious speculation about whether he’d end up there or at Grêmio. Per Gianluca di Marzio, the deal is a loan with an initial fee of €2.5 million and an option to buy at season’s end for €15 million.

What can we say about Pedro’s time in Florence? He arrived for a cool €11 million from Fluminense with a serious cruciate ligament injury and a reputation as one of Brazil’s most promising number nines after scoring 15 goals in 29 appearances over his final two seasons in the Southern Hemisphere Serie A. He spent a lot of time rehabbing and even scored a goal with the Primavera. He played a total of 59 senior minutes spaced across 4 appearances off the bench.

We can only wonder at what exactly happened here. Tapped as a Real Madrid target before shredding his ACL last year, he has a big reputation in Brazil and was close to earning a call up to the national team. But in Florence, even when both the player and the management declared him fully fit, he couldn’t unseat a badly-misfiring Dušan Vlahović or an out-of-position Kevin-Prince Boateng, despite Fiorentina crying out for a capable center forward.

Whether there’s some sort of conspiracy at work here (possible but unlikely) or whether he’s simply a 22-year-old who wants to go back home after moving away for the first time in his life (possible and more likely), we wish him the best. It sounds like Flamengo was his choice—the Viola supposedly had an argument with Grêmio but scrapped it to cater to his wishes—so hopefully he’ll leave on good terms and get back on track quickly. It’s bizarre to give up on a talented young player so quickly, but Fiorentina at least turns a small profit on him. It’s just a strange situation all around.