Felipe Melo discussed the disparity between South American and European clubs at the 2026 Olé Summit and expressed support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino. He also joked about Manchester City potentially being stripped of their titles, demanding to be awarded the Club World Cup.

Discussing the rivalry between South American and European teams

Melo said: "Flamengo is a South American team with the financial power to sign top players. For example, they played a fantastic match against Paris Saint-Germain, ultimately losing on penalties. But they have to play like that, deliver their best performance, just to have a chance to win. The players have to perform exceptionally well. I've played in two Club World Cups, and both were very tough. You're facing the strongest Manchester City team in history, so it's always difficult. Then there are teams like Bayern, who all have extremely strong financial backing.

In Brazil, Estêvão is an example of this. Estêvão played one season at Palmeiras, and Endrick also played one season at Palmeiras before moving to Real Madrid while still very young. Real Madrid signed Mbappé, and now he can't get playing time and needs to leave to find minutes. Estêvão performed well in his first six months at Chelsea, but now he's not playing either. Now Palmeiras sold Allan to Manchester City. Previously, Napoli wanted to offer 30 million, but Manchester City bid 40 or 50 million and signed him. It's difficult."

During the event, Melo jokingly expressed his desire to claim the 2023 Club World Cup title. At the time, Fluminense, for whom the defensive midfielder played, lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the final. The joke comes amid allegations that Manchester City has been found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules, with the alleged violations occurring between 2009 and 2018. One possible sanction is that Manchester City could be stripped of titles won during that period.

Melo stated: "Manchester City must lose everything. Give me my Club World Cup title. I'll drive around with the trophy in Copacabana, Barra da Tijuca, in Rio. World champions! Take all their titles."

Regarding his support for Infantino

Melo said: "Politics is one thing, and what's best for football is another. I supported Infantino before and still support him because he does what's best for football's development. I truly believe that Infantino and everyone working with him — and I am part of this team — are doing fantastic work, which is best for football's future. Of course, they will make mistakes, no matter who they are, even if they are successful entrepreneurs. But mistakes happen naturally. They are human, and humans make mistakes."

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