Brazil has been a clear dominator in South American football for years, with signings and salaries more typical of Europe. In the last five years, Brazilian clubs have monopolized the major trophies in South America, as demonstrated by the five Libertadores Cup that they have raised consecutively. Now, they have set the goal of competing with the major European leagues in attracting footballers to their teams.
According to a transfer report issued by the FIFA, revealed that Flamengo, Bahia and Basque They were the three clubs that spent the most on acquiring the economic rights of the players in 2023, while the first Argentine team is River, which appears in the fourth link.
Within the top ten, in which Boca does not appear, there are also four other Argentine teams: Talleres occupies 5th place; Students, 8th and Racing, 9th.
Flamengo, cWith revenues exceeding one billion reais in 2023, it was the club that spent the most on transfers in South America. The FIFA report takes into account transfers made between January 1 and December 31, 2023. During this period, the red and black repatriated Gerson, from Olympique de Marseille, and signed two stars: midfielder Allan and forward Luiz Araújo.
In second place is Bahia. The Salvadoran club received an injection of resources after its SAF was acquired by the City Group, led by the powerful Manchester City. The main acquisitions that Bahía made in the period analyzed by FIFA, 15 in totalwere the arrivals of the right back Gilberto, the left back Chávez and the forward Ademir.
Vasco is on the last step of the podium. The Cariocas also transformed their football into a Public Limited Company and sold 70% of the company’s assets to 777 Members, in 2022. The resources came more strongly in 2023, when Vasco acquired the economic rights of seven players in the period. Luca Orellano was the main signing of this 2023, which also featured the arrivals of Léo Jardim and Jair.
Then the first Argentine appears in the FIFA rankings. In recent years, Ríver has established itself as the richest in Argentina, ahead of its eternal rival Boca. This can be seen in the reinforcements that the club sought in 2023. There were six purchases of rights, with emphasis on Colidio, who arrived from Internazionale (ITA), Boselli, from Defensor (URU) and Nacho Fernández, who was at Atlético-MG .
Talleres de Córdoba, which operates within Argentine football as a covert SA, is in fifth place. The Córdoba club has been standing out on the Argentine and South American scene since Andrés Fassi assumed the presidency in 2014 – he is a businessman and one of the owners of Pachuca, from Mexico -. The rise of Talleres is reflected in its behavior in the transfer market. In 2023, the club acquired eight players.
In sixth position is Saints who, despite experiencing a financial crisis, which ended up culminating in relegation to Serie B in 2023, went on the market and was among the ten South American teams with the highest investments in purchasing players. The most notable signing of the period was that of Jean Lucas, already negotiated with Bahía.
Red Bull Braganitno is placed seventh. The São Paulo interior team has constantly invested in the acquisition of players, especially young players with potential for development and subsequent resale. In 2023, the main signing was the Uruguayan striker Borbas.
The next two positions in this FIFA ranking are occupied by Estudiantes de La Plata and Racing. The four-time Libertadores champion signed 12 different players in 2023. The main one was midfielder Ascacíbar, who was at Hertha Berlin (Germany).
Meanwhile, the Academia is among the ten clubs that invested the most in signings in 2023. Juan Ignácio Nardoni, from the Argentine Olympic team, was the Avellaneda club’s biggest acquisition.
The list of the ten that invested the most is closed by Botafogo. Since John Textor bought 90% of the shares of the black and white company, the market attitude has been one of strong investment. Notable for the purchase of the rights of the Uruguayan Diego Hernández.
Source: Ambito
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