The "What Game Is This" column, written by Thales Machado for the O Globo newspaper's blog, opened with a scene that illustrates the central theme of the text: a young fan of Estudiantes, an Argentine club, was interviewed by a reporter from ge TV about why Brazilians were winning so much in the Libertadores. Without beating around the bush, she responded that "Brazilians have a lot of money. Obviously," citing Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Fluminense as examples.
The text points out that the child's response, despite being simple, gained substance after the first legs of the Libertadores quarterfinals. At the time of the article, among the Argentine teams, only Platense and Estudiantes remained in the competition, evidencing the disparity between clubs from the two countries.
The article questions whether it is healthy for the Libertadores this scenario of Brazilian financial dominance, which would be transforming the South American tournament into something similar to the Copa do Brasil, a domestic competition that is also marked by large disparities between clubs.
An investigation mentioned by Sports Editor Diogo Dantas is cited, indicating that Flamengo and Fluminense would be putting up for sale more tickets than allowed at the Maracanã, which reinforces the discussion about the financial resources of Brazilian clubs in relation to their continental competitors.
