On January 15, Baliga giants Fluminense officially announced the signing of 28-year-old Cristiano from Sheriff Tiraspol. The left-back's transfer fee is €1.4 million.
For Cristiano, the Champions League in 2021-22 was an important turning point in his individual playing career. It was thanks to his outstanding performances in the Champions League that Cristiano was able to transfer to Fluminense and will make his debut in the First Division.
In the first few years of his career, Cristiano played in Brazil's second division, third division, and even fourth division Bardeen, but failed to reach the stage of the top league. In the football kingdom of Brazil, Cristiano was unknown at the time.
In the summer of 2017, Cristiano left Brazil to join Sheriff Tiraspol on loan and began his career in Europe, playing with the team in the Moldovan league. Cristiano quickly secured the main position, and six months later, Sheriff Tiraspol bought out the Brazilian left-back.
In the 2021-22 Champions League season, Sheriff Tiraspol brought a lot of surprises. After playing four opponents in the first qualifying round, Tiraspol's sheriff team reached the Champions League for the first time in its history, and finally shared the same group as Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the first group stage of the Champions League, Sheriff Tiraspol defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 at home, followed by a big upset in the 2-1 away win over Real Madrid. After six rounds of group matches, Sheriff Tiraspol, who won 2, drew 3 and lost 3, accumulated 7 points, was finally placed third in the group. As the main left-back in the squad, Cristiano has performed well in the Champions League.
In the first round of the Champions League group stage, Sheriff Tiraspol defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 at home, and Cristiano, who made his Champions League debut, delivered two precise assists on the left.
In the first half of the game, Cristiano pushed all the way forward from the backfield, sending out a cross after running tens of meters on the left side to assist his teammates to break the goal.
In the second half, teammates split the ball to the left, cristiano chased the ball and crossed it to assist the teammate's header in the box.
In the second round of the Champions League group stage, Sheriff Tiraspol beat Real Madrid 2-1 away from home, cristiano again offered an assist, he sent a cross from the left and a teammate's header from inside the box was broken.
In the first two rounds of the Champions League group stage, Cristiano contributed three assists, and his value also rose sharply, reaching 2 million euros. You can imagine how low the Brazilian left-back has been worth in previous years.
With his outstanding performances in the Champions League this season, Cristiano was shot by Fluminense and finally moved to the Baliga giants in January this year. Fluminense, who has been established for 119 years, has won the Bajia championship four times so far, and in the 2021 season of the Bajia League, the team finally ranked 7th in the table.
In the current Fluminense squad, there are several familiar faces of fans:
Striker Fred, who wore Brazil's No. 9 shirt at the 2014 World Cup, is currently playing for Fluminense, where he scored five goals in 2020 and 2021.
The player currently wearing the number 10 shirt of Fluminense is the ganso familiar to fans. After a short trip to Europe, he returned to The Bajia to join Fluminense, and before he knew it, Ganso was 32 years old.
Fluminense has another midfielder in the squad, and fans will not be unfamiliar with it: Melo. The 2010 World Cup midfielder of Brazil, who has been in La Liga, Serie A and Turkish Super League for many years, returned to Palmeiras after his European career, and not long ago, the 38-year-old Melo transferred to Fluminense.
Unlike Fred, Ganso and Merlo, who have been playing in the Liga for many years, Cristiano has not yet set foot in the Liga, and in the 2022 season of the Liga, the left-back will finally fulfill his dream.