Rio de Janeiro Dec 29 (IANS) Former Brazil internationals Diego Cavalieri and Henrique were among the eight players released by Fluminense as part of a major overhaul of the the Rio de Janeiro football club s squad.
Others to be cut included Roma midfielder Marquinho and one-time Arsenal winger Wellington Silva reports Xinhua news agency.
"We are working to have a group of players that will allow us to be competitive in 2018 while remaining within our budget " the club s executive director Marcus Vinicius said. "We are making a concerted effort to reduce our salary commitments."
Goalkeeper Cavalieri capped three times for Brazil represented Fluminense 352 times over seven seasons. Henrique a centre-back made seven appearances for the national team after his 2015 move from Napoli.
In addition the club announced the departures of forward Maranhao left-back Arthur midfielder Higor Leite and striker Robert.
The four-time Brazilian top flight champions finished 14th in the country s 20-team Serie A standings in 2017 with just 11 wins from 38 matches.
Fluminense will begin pre-season training on January 3 at their Barra da Tijuca headquarters in Rio s west.
--IANS
sam/bg
