Market Insights
Brazil has been the most active country in the international football transfer market since FIFA
TMS started gathering transfer information from member associations worldwide in October
2010. Meanwhile, Brazilian players have also been the most transferred players in the
international transfer market.
In the midst of the FIFA World Cup™ currently hosted by Brazil; this paper aims to describe the
key trends and patterns in international transfers involving both Brazilian clubs and Brazilian
players over the last three years.
Brazilian clubs are the most active in the international marke t
Between January 2011 and June 2014, Brazilian clubs were involved in a total of 2,692
international transfers to engage players, while they performed 2,311 transfers to release
players, adding up to a staggering 5,003 transfers during this period, by far the highest volume
worldwide (the second most active country being England with 3,469 transfers).
In the first six months of 2014, the number of transfers is showing a downward trend with a
total of 717 transfers registered (444 transfers to engage a player and 273 transfers to release a
player), or an overall decrease of 14% in comparison with the same period in 2013.
Figure 1
Brazilian clubs’ transfers – first six months of the year
Number of transfers
900
849
831
795
800
717
700
600
543
570
522
444
500
400
306
300
273
261
2012
2013
273
200
2011
Source: FIFA TMS
Total
Engaging
2014
Releasing
For the whole period, the majority of players engaged by Brazilian clubs came from European
clubs (53% on average). Similarly, the principal destination of players leaving Brazil was Europe
(49% on average) highlighting the strong links between Brazilian and European clubs.
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
1
Market Insights
Figure 2
Origin of players engaged by Brazilian clubs
between January 2011 and June 2014
1438
UEFA
71
CAF
0
Source: FIFA TMS
250
283
171
CONCACAF
126
CONCACAF
693
CONMEBOL
385
CONMEBOL
1131
UEFA
AFC
672
AFC
Figure 3
Destination of players released by Brazilian
clubs between January 2011 and June 2014
33
CAF
500
750
1000
1250
1500
Number of transfers
0
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
Number of transfers
Source: FIFA TMS
On average, between January 2011 and June 2014, the players engaged by Brazilian clubs were
26.2 years old, while those released by the country’s clubs were 24.8 years old. Consequently,
the difference in age between players leaving and going to Brazil was relatively narrow, at 1.4
years.
On the other hand, the number of players
under 20 years old that were released by
Brazilian clubs was significantly higher than
the number of players under 20 engaged by
the clubs of the country. There were 199
players under 20 leaving Brazil (9% of the
total); while there were 108 players under20 engaged by Brazilian clubs (4% of the
total).
As a result, while the overall age difference
between players leaving and entering Brazil
is relatively narrow – highlighting the
continued attractiveness of Brazilian clubs –
there is still a substantial number of young
players leaving the country to play abroad.
Figure 4
Under-20 players’ transfers since January
2011
108
199
Under-20 players engaged by Brazilian clubs
Under-20 players released by Brazilian clubs
Source: FIFA TMS
Brazilian players are also the most sought-after worldwide
The highest number of international transfers by nationality between January 2011 and June
2014 was of Brazilian players, with 5,526 transfers worldwide (13% of the total). The second
most traded nationality (Argentinian) recorded 2,632 transfers during the same period.
With regards to the nationalities of the players engaged in Brazil, the vast majority of them were
actually Brazilians coming back to their home country. Indeed, between January 2011 and June
2014, Brazilians represented 88% (2,377 transfers) of all the transfers to Brazil, followed by
Argentinians (3%) and Uruguayans (2%). A similar pattern for players leaving Brazil was
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
2
Market Insights
recorded, with 89% of the players leaving the country being Brazilian (2,068 transfers), followed
by Argentinian and Uruguayan, at 2% each.
The transfers of Brazilian players outside of Brazil were also significant during the period, with
1,081 transfers recorded worldwide, the majority of these transfers involving at least one
European country (789 transfers; 73%) and 508 transfers (47%) being realised between two
European countries.
Brazilian clubs recorded the highest net receipts during the period
Between January 2011 and June 2014, Brazilian clubs spent a total of USD 304 million in the
international transfer market; the 10th highest spending realised by a country worldwide. The
total receipts recorded by Brazilian clubs through the release of players internationally reached
USD 883 million, the 4th highest level worldwide. The country’s net receipts (difference between
international transfer spending and revenue) totalled USD 579 million over this period, USD 121
million more than the second country on this list (Portugal, USD 458 million).
In 2014, despite lower spending between January and June (decrease of 46% on 2013 to
USD 31 million), Brazilian clubs managed to record net receipts of USD 75 million; increasing
from USD 63 million during the same period the year before, largely reflecting the lower
decrease in transfer receipts (-11% year-on-year).
Figure 5
Brazilian clubs net receipts – first six months of the year
Millions
USD million
140
120
119
106
105
100
75
80
55
60
40
75
63
63
57
31
50
12
20
0
2011
Source: FIFA TMS
2012
Transfer receipts
2013
Transfer spending
2014
Net receipts
Between January 2011 and June 2014, the countries spending the most to recruit players from
Brazilian clubs were Ukraine, with a total of 38 transfers for a total of USD 151 million spent,
followed by Italy (76 transfers; USD 110 million) and Spain (43 transfers; USD 85 million). These
three countries together represented a total of 157 transfers (7% of all the transfers out of
Brazil) for receipts of USD 346 million (39% of Brazilian clubs’ total receipts). At the same time,
the spending of Brazilian clubs with their three principal partners was significantly lower, at
USD 141 million, and was directed to Ukraine (USD 73 million; 36 transfers), Italy
(USD 41 million; 98 transfers) and Russia (USD 27 million; 24 transfers).
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
3
Market Insights
Strong ties between Portugal and Brazil despite limited fees involved
The flow of players between Brazil and Portugal has been very strong since January 2011, with
movements of players from Portuguese to Brazilian clubs representing the highest number of
transfers worldwide, at 463 transfers. Transfers of players from Brazil to Portugal reached 342
transfers, the third highest one-way flow, only exceeded by transfers from England to Scotland
(365 transfers, see figure 6). However, out of these 805 transfers (16% of the 5,003
international transfers involving Brazilian clubs), only 53 involved payment of transfer
compensation, for a total of USD 69 million, 6% of the total transfer fee for Brazilian clubs (both
engaging and releasing) recorded between January 2011 and June 2014.
While the number of Portuguese players involved in transfers between Brazil and Portugal
remained very low (four transfers or 0.5% of the total), Brazilian players represented 98% (789
transfers) of the total transfers between the two countries. This highlights that Portugal
represents both the entry and exit door to Europe for Brazilian players. It is interesting to note,
however, that while Portugal remains the key partner of Brazil in terms of transfer volume, these
transfers predominantly involve Brazilian players for transfer fees substantially lower than in the
case of other streams, such as the Brazilian-Ukrainian one.
Figure 6
The 10 most active transfer streams by
volume of transfers since January 2011
Figure 7
The 10 transfer streams with the highest
transfer fees since January 2011
Releasing
country
Engaging
country
Number of
transfers
Releasing
country
Engaging
country
(in USD million)
Portugal
Brazil
463
Spain
England
424
England
Scotland
365
Italy
France
374
Brazil
Portugal
342
France
England
336
Argentine
Chile
309
England
Spain
310
Scotland
England
284
Spain
Italy
304
England
Wales
250
Italy
England
273
Wales
England
224
Portugal
Spain
215
Argentine
Uruguay
205
Germany
England
215
Germany
Turkey
189
Netherlands
England
176
Chile
Argentine
167
Brazil
Ukraine
151
Source: FIFA TMS
Transfer fee
Source: FIFA TMS
In summary, this report emphasises Brazil’s key role in the international transfer market, both as
a leader in terms of transfer volume and as an essential pool of talents for countries worldwide.
Going forward, FIFA TMS will continue to monitor the transfer patterns involving both Brazilian
clubs and players to assess any shift in these trends.
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
4
Market Insights
About FIFA TMS’s data
FIFA TMS was created in 2007 to increase integrity and transparency in the professional football
transfer market. The company has been collecting comprehensive information on the
international transfer market since October 2010, with a full dataset available for the period
from 2011 to date. FIFA TMS collects data on the mobility patterns, nationalities, ages and
positions of players, the types of contracts they enter into, the lengths of contracts, transfer fees
(including conditional transfer fees), solidarity contribution and training compensation. For more
information regarding FIFA TMS data, please contact [email protected].
FIFA TMS solutions

Market Insights


Global transfer market



FIFA TMS on the football transfer market (April 2014)
Global Transfer Market 2014
Market reports

BIG 5: Transfer Window Analysis (January 2014)

Country reports:
o
Market Report England 2013
o
Market Report France 2013
o
Market Report Germany 2013
o
Market Report Italy 2013
o
Market Report Spain 2013
Customised data
FIFA TMS provides customised data at regional, national and global level that can be filtered
according to client requirements. The data can be provided in multiple formats including tables,
graphs and state-of-the-art visualisations.
For more information regarding customised data, please contact [email protected].

Domestic Transfer Matching System
The Domestic Transfer Matching System (DTMS) is designed to facilitate domestic transfers to
member associations and clubs. It brings all the benefits of the International Transfer Matching
System (ITMS) to the domestic market.
For any questions regarding DTMS, please contact [email protected].
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
5
Market Insights
About FIFA TMS’s mission
Vision statement
The vision of FIFA TMS is to foster and sustain a transparent transfer market based on integrity,
accountability, and innovation.
Mission statement
In the context of the football transfer market, FIFA TMS aims to:
1.
Enable clubs to confirm the terms and conditions of player transfers;
2.
Facilitate the transfer of player registrations between associations;
3.
Help safeguard the protection of minors;
4.
Provide information and decision-making tools to key stakeholders;
5.
Train and support key stakeholders;
6.
Monitor player transfer activities and investigate alleged breaches of the transfer
regulations; and
7.
Enforce adherence to the transfer regulations through a specific sanction system, presenting
breaches of those transfer regulations and proposing sanctions to the competent FIFA
bodies.
Methodological approach
All information on transfer fees and intermediary commissions is automatically converted into US
dollars on the basis of conversion rates as of the day of the transfer’s first registration in TMS.
Transfers are allocated to a certain calendar year according to the date when they reach the
status of “ITC request” in TMS, irrespective of the date of their first entry. Data has been
extracted from TMS on 1 July 2014.
General disclaimer
As regards technical references possibly included in the present report, please be advised that in
the event of any contradiction between the contents of this report and the actual text of the
relevant regulations, the latter shall always prevail. Equally, the contents of this report may not
alter existing jurisprudence of the competent decision-making bodies and is without prejudice to
any decision which the said bodies might be called upon to pass in the future.
All information contained herein is exclusively owned by FIFA and/or FIFA Transfer Matching
System GmbH, except as otherwise provided herein. The reproduction of any such images,
trademarks, text or any and all content (even partially) is strictly prohibited unless express prior
approval is obtained from FIFA, FIFA Transfer Matching System GmbH and/or the author of such
works (as the case may be). Any views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect those of
FIFA or FIFA Transfer Matching System GmbH.
© 2014 FIFA TMS. All rights reserved.
Market Insights – Brazil a key player in the international transfer market, July 2014
6