Develop, sell, repeat: how Brazil feeds Europe and the Premier League with young talent

For any Brazilian teenager breaking into the first team of a giant club like Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Flamengo or Fluminense, there may be a very good probability that he has just earned a lucrative ticket to European football. The five most costly transfers in Brazil this season concerned the sale of all players to certainly one of the most significant clubs in Europe, Crystal Palace. According to Transfermarkt, their average salary was £20 million. Their average age was only 19 years.

Brazil has all the time been a fertile ground for emerging talent, but its export industry is busier than ever in terms of top young players, especially on the road to the Premier League. Over the past few years, the variety of Brazilians playing in England’s top flight has increased from just 12 in 2018 to 33 last season.

Some of them come directly from Brazil, others from other European clubs, but just about all of them have something in common – they leave Brazil as a young player with a suitcase filled with potential, not a finished product.

European agents settled in South America to facilitate the boom. There was a niche in the market when it got here to not only contract negotiations, but in addition 360-degree support, from profession development advice to social media use. Five players from the Brazilian team for Saturday’s match against England have signed contracts with one agency, Roc Nation, which has Vinicius Jr on its books and is behind one other star, Endrick, and the 17-year-old’s move to Vinicius at Real Madrid this summer. Brazil’s squad would have included six Roca players if Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli had not been injured.

“I don’t think the flow of talent from Brazil to Europe has necessarily increased,” says Fred Pena, president of Brazilian enterprise Roc Nation. “Brazilian talent has been in fashion for over three decades. The profile of players transferred to Europe has changed. You mainly see young talents, aged 20 or 21 at most, going to the five biggest leagues in Europe.

“Players aged 22 and older typically go to so-called “alternative” markets similar to Middle Eastern countries – i.e. Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar – or Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Asian countries, Mexico and the MLS. The latter also accept young talents, but not the highest talents. The best young talents will go to the Big Five, with the essential goal being the Premier League.”

Following Brexit, English clubs initially found themselves in thrall to the recent Approval of Governing Body (GBE) regulations through which foreign transfers needed to pass. The criteria were stringent and threatened to stifle clubs’ ability to buy rough diamonds and untapped potential abroad. But recent regulations introduced last summer have relaxed these rules and freed up the market, particularly for clubs lower down the food chain signing lesser-known talent.

“The FA has granted clubs the right to sign at least two wild card players from anywhere in the world,” explains Alan Redmond, executive vp of Roc Nation Sports International. “This means that players who may not have previously met the work permit requirements can now transfer. This will be really beneficial for our Brazilian business and will also enable all clubs to have a truly global scouting experience. The previous system may have favored the richest clubs.

Brazilian football itself is undergoing something of an evolution and there is some desire to revive its own domestic league. The 2021 law encouraged private investment in clubs and since then there have been many examples of new ownership in Brazil’s Serie A: Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners bought Esporte Clube Bahia in El Salvador; US-based 777 Partners, which is seeking to add Everton to its portfolio, has bought Vasco da Gama in Rio; American technology entrepreneur John Textor bought Botafogo; Ronaldo, one of the best Brazilian footballers, bought the first club he played for – Cruzeiro.

The opportunities for growth in Brazilian football are clear. While the Premier League derives 50 percent of its broadcast revenue from abroad, currently only 2 percent of the Brazilian league’s television revenue comes from international markets. There is significant untapped potential if you can successfully sell your product to overseas audiences.

This shouldn’t be difficult as the product itself is attractive. Brazil boasts historic clubs, packed stadiums, fierce competition, talented homegrown players and plenty of style and entertainment on the pitch.

But organizationally, Brazilian football can sometimes resemble basketball: there is a political split among the top clubs that prevents the unity that began with the English Premier League in the early 1990s, and the league is tainted by a history of corruption and scandal. Last season, Botafogo’s new owner Textor accused match officials of cheating after a 4-3 defeat to Palmeiras. “This championship has become a joke,” he fumed full-time. “This is fucking corruption.”

In some ways, the league is its own worst enemy. There is potential to show Brazil’s Serie A right into a thriving product in its own right, complementing its profitable business of selling homegrown talent. But constructing a league requires cohesion and vision which are currently missing at the top of Brazilian football. Selling assets is a way of repaying the debts that a lot of the biggest clubs are saddled with, and stays the quickest and simplest approach to make ends meet.

And for players, the appeal of Europe’s elite is stronger than ever. It’s a possible path to the top of the game, in addition to access to life-changing wealth unmatched by the amounts they were earning in South America.

“Let’s remember that most young athletes in Brazil come from poor families,” adds Pena. “They love football and are definitely fans of their home clubs, but with the ability to lift the whole family out of poverty is an absolute priority. That’s why Brazilian talents will go wherever there may be big money for them: Russia, Ukraine, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Mexico…

“For me it’s normal that today a Brazilian young player is more occupied with competing in the Premier League or Champions League than in the Brazilian Serie A or Copa Libertadores. They wish to compete with the best and then hopefully be recognized as the best.