Only Independiente (7), Boca Juniors (6), and Peñarol (5) will remain. The finalists of the 66th edition of the Libertadores confirm the yoke of Brazilian teams, which have dominated the region in the last decade thanks to their economic power. According to a balance from Transfermarkt, a company that specializes in valuing footballers in the market, the duel between the Verdao and the Mengao will pit the two most valuable squads in South America against each other, with a valuation exceeding 470 million dollars. Palmeiras, with 245 million dollars, leads the regional value ranking. The hegemony of Brazilian football in South American club football will reach its climax this Saturday when Palmeiras and Flamengo dispute the final of the Copa Libertadores, which will crown the seventh consecutive champion from the Amazonian country. The Monumental stadium in Lima, starting at 4 in the afternoon (Panama time), will be the stage for the fifth final in the last six years between Brasileirao teams, which will reach 25 titles in the history of the South American competition and equal the record of Argentine teams. The winner between Palmeiras and Flamengo will become the first team in their country to win four crowns and leave behind other three-time champions: the Brazilian Sao Paulo, Santos, and Gremio; Olimpia and Nacional. Among its stars stands out forward Vitor Roque (who has four goals in the tournament), who arrived after a brief spell at Barcelona and Betis for a transfer that exceeded 23 million dollars. Andreas Pereira, a former Fulham and Manchester United player, occupies the second position with 18 million. Flamengo showed off its coffers in the mid-year market by signing from European football Samuel Lino and Saúl Ñíguez (Atlético de Madrid), Jorge Carrascal (Dinamo Moscow), Emerson Royal (AC Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), and Carlos Alcaraz (Everton). In addition, they will reach the Argentines River Plate and Estudiantes de La Plata. With these signings, the cariocas invested around 50 million dollars in 2025 and their squad value is close to 230 million.
