Flamengo president intervened to veto Johnston’s Brazil move

FLAMENGO president Luiz Eduardo Baptista revealed he personally vetoed former Celtic winger Mikey Johnston’s move to Brazil because of his concerns over his fitness.

But the Rio de Janeiro club’s manager Filipe Luis admitted he was desperate to sign the West Brom attacker.

The former Scotland Under-21s player, who switched international allegiances to Ireland, was gutted when his £4.5million surprise move to Flamengo collapsed last week.

And the club’s president explained they performed a U-turn after studying his injury record.

Baptista said: “Why not Mikey Johnston? Because the club’s medical report said he would be fit to play for 1,800 minutes a season. “How many has he played this season? 900. So am I going to bring in a player to play 900 minutes when I still have to play another 4,000 minutes?

“These are decisions you have to make. It’s not personal against the player. It’s for Flamengo.

“He may be a great athlete, a great professional, but for Flamengo’s needs, at this moment, in my opinion, he wasn’t ideal.”

Johnston actually played 2,078 minutes in the English Championship for West Brom last season – not the 900 claimed by the Flamengo president.

And boss Luis said: “Obviously, I approved the transfer. They sent me the videos, his characteristics, and I approved. That’s all I can say.”