Lula Pushes for Local Players in Brazil’s National Team

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for the national team to avoid picking stars including Vinicius Jnr and Richarlison in favour of players who ply their trade in their home country.Lula Pushes for Local Players in Brazil’s National Team

The national team is currently in the thick of 2026 World Cup qualifiers but have endured a torrid run of results including recent defeats to Paraguay and a Copa America quarter-final exit against Uruguay.

Under new manager Dorival Junior, the side are yet to replicate the success of national teams past despite having a wealth of talent available from established players to rising starlets like Real Madrid youngster Endrick.

But rather than casting the net wider in a bid to find the cream of the crop to call upon, Lula has called upon Brazil’s governing body to look more closely at where players are choosing to feature at domestic level.

The president confirmed in a radio interview that he had gone as far as lobbying the head of the Brazil Football Federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, to look locally rather than to top-flight leagues abroad for the next cohort of international stars.

‘Those who are abroad are not better than those here,’ President Lula said. ‘In Brazil, there are good players of the same quality (as those abroad), so give opportunities to those who are here.’

Lula also rubbished the idea that there were true international stars playing abroad equivalent to greats such as ‘Garrincho or Romario’.

Instead, he added, there are ‘just a bunch of young players who are not yet stars.’

Players who could be impacted by a potential ban would include Barcelona’s Raphina, Rodrygo and Eder Militao of Real Madrid, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabril Magalhaes of Arsenal, Liverpool’s Alisson, Manchester City shot-stopper Ederson, and future Chelsea player Estevao Willian, who is currently playing at Palmeiras before he joins the Blues in 2025.

Of the players called up by Dorival Junior for this current international break, seven out of 23 feature at Brazilian clubs, but the manager’s hands are somewhat tied by a raft of injuries keeping a number of established starters out of this spate of internationals.

However, as if to establish Lula’s point, both of the players who scored in Brazil’s 2-1 victory against Chile on Thursday night – Luiz Henrique and Igor Jesus – play for Rio de Janeiro’s Botafogo.