Rafel Gomes Cirino, also known as Belinho, rejected Brazil‘s call up and instead decided to represent Croatia. Therefore, he could become the third Brazilian-born player to represent Croatia.
Belinho moved together with his father and brother to Croatia two years ago and beginning of 2023 he joined the ranks of Dinamo Zagreb. Currently he is in the process of acquiring the Croatian citizenship and expected to become an official Croatian citizen at the end of this year.
According to his agent Andy Bara, Belinho could potentially become the most expensive transfer in Dinamo‘s history. However, it is still early to tell if he will eventually fulfill his potential as he is only 14 years old.