Botafogo Scout Says Club Nearly Signed Eran Zahavi in 2022

Botafogo came close to signing Israeli striker Eran Zahavi in the summer of 2022, according to a new interview in Brazil by club scout Rafael Rezende. At the time, Zahavi had just left PSV Eindhoven, and the two main options on the table were a return to Maccabi Tel Aviv or a move to the Brazilian club. Zahavi ultimately chose Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he stayed until the final match of his career and won his sixth league title.

Rezende, who was Botafogo’s scout that summer, said the club’s initial move for Zahavi was unusual and that owner John Textor strongly wanted the transfer. “I don’t know what would have happened, but the Israeli Zahavi was in the Netherlands and was scoring in every possible way, after we failed to sign him,” he said.

He added that Botafogo knew Zahavi from his PSV connection with striker Carlos Vinicius. “It didn’t work out, but you can imagine what it would have meant to bring an Israeli player to Brazil. John wasn’t worried about that,” Rezende said.

Rezende also said Botafogo considered Belgian forward Dries Mertens, who played for Napoli and Belgium. “We looked at Mertens, but it didn’t work,” he said. “We really wanted to show the market that a new guy had arrived who wanted to invest in players.”