🤑 Brazilian mega transfers

In football’s January transfer window, which closed this past week, a look at the top five sales throughout the period could leave some observers surprised. Behind the massive fee Manchester City paid for Antoine Semenyo and the close to 50 million euros (USD 59 million) Crystal Palace spent on Jørgen Strand Larsen, there is Brazil’s 28-year-old playmaker Lucas Paquetá, subject of a EUR 42 million transfer not to an elite Champions League side, but back to his boyhood club Flamengo.

A look further down the list sees Cruzeiro’s EUR 27 million swoop for national team midfielder Gerson, and Palmeiras’s EUR 25 million potential signing of Wolves attacker Jhon Arias may well have been confirmed by the time of publishing.

Of the leagues that spent the most in this transfer window, Brazil’s Série A appears in third, behind England and Italy’s top flights, and spending almost double that of the oil-rich Saudi Pro League. So how is Brazil able to spend so much on transfer fees? And will the league continue to compete with the European elites? …

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