Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã turned sharply against a player who once belonged to its recent continental memory. Jhon Arias, a Copa Libertadores winner with Fluminense in 2023, returned on Wednesday wearing Palmeiras colours and encountered sustained jeers as Palmeiras claimed a 2-1 away victory in the first leg of the Libertadores semi-final.
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The Colombian was booed whenever he touched the ball, while sections of the Fluminense support labelled him “Judas”. Outside the stadium, supporters displayed an oversized shirt bearing the number 21 and the same accusation.
After the match, Arias answered the criticism by saying that people had “amnesia”, a pointed response from a footballer whose contribution to Fluminense’s 2023 triumph had made him a major figure at the club.
The reaction placed Arias in a long continental tradition: former favourites can find their old stadiums unforgiving after a move elsewhere, particularly when a transfer is seen to strengthen a rival.
Transfers that changed the reception
Luís Figo’s move from Barcelona to Real Madrid remains among the defining examples. The Portugal international had been Barcelona captain and one of the club’s biggest names before joining Madrid in 2000, in a deal close to €60 million after Florentino Pérez made the signing part of his presidential campaign. The transfer was a record at the time and became the opening statement of Madrid’s Galácticos period.
For Barcelona supporters, the departure of a captain to their fiercest opponent became a deep personal rupture. When Figo returned to Camp Nou in 2002, the match was stopped amid a barrage of objects near the corner flag, including bottles, coins and the pig’s head that became an enduring image of the Clásico’s hostility.
Manchester supplied another version in 2009. Carlos Tévez left Manchester United following a two-year loan spell, despite having won the Champions League with the club in 2008, and signed for Manchester City. His first return to Old Trafford brought boos and insults in a dramatic 4-3 United victory. City added to the provocation away from the pitch with a huge welcome billboard for their new Argentine forward.
In Germany, Mario Götze’s agreement to leave Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich in 2013 was announced shortly before the two sides met in the Champions League final. Developed at Dortmund and regarded as one of the country’s outstanding young talents, Götze was jeered on his first return to Signal Iduna Park later that year. He came on after half-time, scored in Bayern’s 3-0 win and declined to celebrate against his former team.
Gonzalo Higuaín’s exit from Napoli for Juventus in 2016 carried a €90 million fee and brought particular pain in southern Italy, given both his status as Napoli’s leading scorer and the rivalry with Juventus. On his first visit back to the then San Paolo stadium in 2017, thousands of whistles and loud boos accompanied him for almost the entire match.
Robin van Persie had been Arsenal captain and principal goalscorer before moving to Manchester United in 2012. At his first Emirates Stadium return in 2013, Arsenal fans booed the Dutch striker, who scored a penalty in a 1-1 draw. He had already won the English title with United that season, the trophy he had sought for years in north London.
More recently, Romelu Lukaku met a bitter welcome at San Siro after his Inter Milan spell ended amid talks with Juventus before he joined Roma in 2023. Inter’s organised supporters intended to hand out 30,000 whistles for his return, and although authorities barred the planned distribution, whistles still circulated around the stadium. Lukaku was loudly jeered as Inter won 1-0.
The semi-final still to be settled
Palmeiras now carry a 2-1 advantage from the Maracanã into the second leg of the Libertadores semi-final. For Arias, the remaining tie will be played under the weight of a reunion that has moved quickly from former-idol status to one of the competition’s most charged personal stories.
