Changes in International Football

In the world of international football, South America has always been the place where stars are created and then shipped off to Europe or Asia to financially develop their careers. The top stars in South American football have been constantly making the move to play in Europe while they are still very young. A good example is Brazilian star midfielder Kaka, who started out playing for São Paulo FC when he was 19 and stayed there only for 2 years before signing with Italian powerhouse AC Milan. However, now with South American nations thriving financially some of the larger moves have been made the other way around.

It really began when Neymar, the 20 year old Brazilian star, declined offers from Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and a 75 million euros a week offer from Chelsea FC to stay in his native Santos FC (same club Pelé played for) at least until the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Soon after Neymar chose to stay in Brazil, other emerging stars in the Brazilian league decided it might be a good idea to stay for a few more years as well. Combined with the young talent staying put, highly acclaimed South American players in Europe have been returning at a much higher rate as well. Players like Ronaldinho and Zé Roberto (over 80 caps with national team) are two of many players to go back and play in South America while still making desired money. Ronaldinho went back to play for Flamengo while Zé Roberto now plays for Grêmio. 

All this change in South American football is interesting and definitely great for the local leagues. However, things are really starting to get interesting now, after a top class European midfielder was transferred to a Brazilian team. The dutch international and former AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf just signed with Botafogo FR, one of the best teams in Rio de Janeiro. The move was claimed by the club to be the largest signing of a European player by a Brazilian team. Seedorf has won the UEFA Champions League with AFC Ajax, Real Madrid, and AC Milan a total of 4 times. He has a total of 87 caps with the Dutch national team and scored 11 goals.  Clarence Seedorf reportedly denied higher financial offers from the Chinese, the Canadians, and other European clubs so he could still be able to play competitive football at a high level. Playing for Botafogo FR in Rio de Janeiro wasn't all about the qualities on the field but about what Rio de Janeiro also has to offer off the field. His wife, Luviana, was born in Rio de Janeiro and might have been the deciding factor on Seedorf's move. The couple already has a house in Rio, where they go to vacation as often as they can, and one of the five languages Seedorf is fluent in is portuguese. This is truly the first time a European star chooses to play in South America¹, and the effects of such a move was seen around the world. Every football website in the world was reporting the news in their front page, and Botafogo's website was offline for a few minutes because too many people were going on it. Clarence Seedorf signed a 2 year deal, and is set to play his first game for Botafogo on July 22nd against Grêmio in Rio de Janeiro.

¹ Deco was signed by Fluminense in 2010 from Chelsea FC. He was born in Brazil and his entire family is from Brazil, but since he played in Portugal's FC Porto for 6 years he became eligible for Portuguese citizenship. He proceeded to have 75 caps for Portugal and score 5 goals.