Giorgian De Arrascaeta is enjoying a 2025 that will be hard to match. In February, he lifted the Brazilian Super Cup to become, alongside Bruno Henrique, the most decorated player in Flamengo’s history.
During the season’s final run-in, within the space of four days, De Arrascaeta pulled even further ahead of some of the Rubro-Negro legends of the past. The Uruguayan maestro further enhanced his legacy with another CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and a Brazilian league triumph. He has now won 16 trophies with the club, the same as Bruno Henrique. Zico, Junior and Gabriel Barbosa (Gabigol) all follow with 13.
Speaking to FIFA, De Arrascaeta admitted it is still difficult to grasp the scale of what he has built with the club. It’s a normal feeling, considering that it is still a work in progress. The journey continues on Wednesday against Cruz Azul in the FIFA Derby of the Americas, as Flamengo chase more glory in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2025™ in Qatar.
“Maybe on the day I retire, I’ll start to understand what we have achieved at this club, but for now, we’re simply enjoying everything that we have won and we still want to extend this winning run”, said De Arrascaeta. “The truth is that at the moment, we don’t yet realise the level we’ve reached together as a group.”
Arrascaeta has joined the Boca Juniors legend Juan Roman Riquelme as a three-time winner of the Copa Libertadores. The former Argentinian midfielder is player that De Arrascaeta has long admired, calling Riquelme one of his childhood heroes, but for the Mengao, the No10 jersey is forever linked to their greatest idol and goalscorer, Zico.
After Gabigol’s departure to Cruzeiro, the Uruguayan took on the heavy mantle with great joy. For him, every game was an opportunity to honour that tradition, and to connect the club’s recent triumphs with those of its past. “It is a huge honour to wear such a prestigious shirt, the number 10, and I am trying to make the most of it,” said De Arrascaeta.
And he’ll be doing it again against Cruz Azul. In a squad brimming with talent and depth, De Arrascaeta’s creativity and inventiveness will still be key to overcoming their Mexican opponents. Flamengo take to the pitch buoyed by winning major titles in December, but now, in Doha, a new challenge begins. Cruz Azul, their first opponent, is given their full respect and attention.
“I think we have to go step-by-step, and treat every game like a final,” he said. “We are already focussed on Cruz Azul. We know they are a great rival, and we have to have respect.
“Now we have started to analyse their individual players more deeply, how they like to play, but we know that it’s a team that likes to press, that likes to pass the ball. So from here on, we’ll look at how to neutralise their strengths.”
To keep winning cups requires more than just talent. And De Arrascaeta’s points reveal the mentality of a squad that is fully aware of its own potential, yet understands that nothing is won until the whistle is blown.
Away from the ambition and the glory, De Arrascaeta enjoyed another memorable moment this year before travelling to Doha. On 6 December, he announced the birth of his first son, Milano, on social media, a joy he briefly steps away from while he hunts another trophy for the Rubro-Negro.
“After everything that we have achieved in 2025 and the arrival of my son, to win would be the crowning glory”, he commented. “It would be the happiest ending imaginable.”
