Felipe Melo has jokingly called for Manchester City to be stripped of their trophies and awarded the 2023 Club World Cup title to Fluminense, after his former side lost 4-0 to the English club in the final.
Speaking at the 2026 Ole Summit, the former Fluminense defensive midfielder also discussed the financial gap between South American and European clubs and voiced his continued support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Melo’s comments about Manchester City referred to allegations that the club has been found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018. One possible sanction would be the removal of titles won during that period.
“Manchester City must lose everything. Give me my Club World Cup title. I’ll drive around with the trophy in Copacabana, Barra da Tijuca, in Rio. World champions! Take all their titles,” he said.
Fluminense were beaten 4-0 by Manchester City in the 2023 Club World Cup final, with Melo featuring for the Brazilian club.
Melo said Flamengo’s financial strength had enabled them to recruit high-quality players, but argued that South American teams still needed to produce an exceptional performance to compete with Europe’s wealthiest clubs.
“Flamengo is a South American team with the financial power to sign top players. For example, they played a fantastic match against Paris Saint-Germain, ultimately losing on penalties. But they have to play like that, deliver their best performance, just to have a chance to win,” he said.
“The players have to perform exceptionally well. I’ve played in two Club World Cups, and both were very tough. You’re facing the strongest Manchester City team in history, so it’s always difficult. Then there are teams like Bayern, who all have extremely strong financial backing.”
He also pointed to the movement of young Brazilian players to Europe as evidence of the financial imbalance. Estevao spent one season at Palmeiras before joining Chelsea, while Endrick also played one season for Palmeiras before moving to Real Madrid while still very young.
“Real Madrid signed Mbappe, and now he can’t get playing time and needs to leave to find minutes. Estevao performed well in his first six months at Chelsea, but now he’s not playing either,” Melo added.
He said Palmeiras’ sale of Allan to Manchester City showed how Brazilian clubs could be outbid by European sides.
“Previously, Napoli wanted to offer 30 million, but Manchester City bid 40 or 50 million and signed him. It’s difficult,” he said.
Melo also defended Infantino, saying the FIFA president’s work was focused on the future development of football.
“Politics is one thing, and what’s best for football is another. I supported Infantino before and still support him because he does what’s best for football’s development,” he said.
“I truly believe that Infantino and everyone working with him and I am part of this team are doing fantastic work, which is best for football’s future. Of course, they will make mistakes… They are human, and humans make mistakes.”
