Luiz Henrique André Rosa da Silva He arrived at Real Betis in the summer of 2022 as a very young star in the making and with the enormous anger of the Fluminense fans (there were even demonstrations against his transfer) as an indication that a differential footballer was arriving at La Palmera. In his first months in green and white, expectations began to fall short. He was missing a goal, but his electricity and his overflow aroused the interest of major European teams, with his great game against FC Barcelona in the ‘semi’ of the Spanish Super Cup in January 2023 as a high point before deviating to a line of very irregular performance only to gradually deflate while fears of serious disqualification arose after being investigated in an illegal betting case.
Con only 23 years oldthe one from Petrópolis was encouraged to take a step that almost everyone avoids: he retreated, returning to Brazil just a year and a half after his departure, to gain momentum: in Botafogo he has resurfaced ‘a new Luiz Henrique’ that has managed to become absolute international with the ‘five-time world champion’which has recovered its best level (11 goals and 5 assists in 51 official matches in just 9 months) and that this Saturday can become champion of the Copa Libertadores -equivalent to the Champions League in South America-. At Betis, obviously, they keep an eye on him because they still have important economic interests with him.
Betis has already paid 18 million for Luiz Henrique and has two others
Not in vain, the Heliopolitan directive has confirmed to this newspaper that The objectives have already been met to add two of the four million euros that had been stipulated as variables in the contract for his transfer to Botafogo FR for 16 million in the January 2024 winter market.. That is to say, a total of 18 million have already entered, after playing 60 percent of the minutes in an official match (they do not count losses due to injury or sanction) and, in addition, in the Benito Villamarín offices as well. They assume that the other two kilos will arrive shortly.when the foreseeable transfer to Olympique Lyon is completed. The Brazilian team and the French team share an owner, the American tycoon John Textor, although the poor economic situation of ‘OL’ threatened, according to some information, that movement that Heliópolis continues to consider to be expected.
Luiz Henrique is more than justifying his status as most expensive signing in the history of the Brazilian Serie Aa tournament that usually sells at a high price but does not usually pay large transfers. With his clear improvement in front of goal, the assists and dribbles that he has always left since his emergence into the highest category of his country at just 17 years old, he is proving to be a differential footballer both in the Brazilian Championship and in the Copa Libertadores, being one of the main architects of Botafogo opting to win both titles. The fight for the continental title will be fought this coming Saturday in Buenos Aires (Argentina) against their compatriots from Atlético Mineiro, in a duel that is expected to be very tense.
The best version of Luiz Henrique, after only lasting a year and a half in Europe
Undisputed starter, second best scorer and fifth best assistant on his team, Luiz Henrique He is also the most unbalanced player in his country’s league, with 76 successful dribbles. One of his most notable performances was in the 5-0 win against Peñarol de Montevideo Uruguayan in the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores, in which he scored a goal and assisted on another, which earned him the choice of best player of the match by Conmebol. All this has allowed him to gain a permanent place in his national team, which has called him up in the last three windows, playing in the last six matches of the ‘Canarinha’ in World Cup qualifiers and contributing two other goals and an assist.
The arrival to the national team compensated for the efforts he made in his childhood, when he almost abandoned football to dedicate himself to judo due to the trips he had to make daily from Petrópolis to the Fluminense training center, on the outskirts of Rio, something that He has remembered these days again. Luiz Henrique, admitted to the Fluminense youth teams at the age of 11, made his professional debut in 2020, at the age of 19. At the height of his career at Botafogo, the forward does not hide his pride. “A boy who leaves the Caragola Valley without knowing anything and is today the most expensive player in the history (of Brazil)… fills me and my family with pride. I feel very proud because we went through many difficulties and suffered a lot before getting here.“, he states in statements collected by the EFE Agency.