Brazil deal a big hand
Posted Friday, July 13, 2012 by The Sun
COINING IT IN ... Neymar
ENGLAND may be seven places ahead of Brazil in the FIFA rankings — but not when it comes to transfers.
New figures compiled by FIFA’s Transfer Matching System put Brazil top of the league.
Between January 1 and June 30 they had, by far, the busiest market with 700 ins and outs.
Some countries are yet to release their numbers, but England, with about 300 transfers, are likely to be battling Germany for second place.
Argentina are confirmed in fourth, ahead of Portugal, Sweden, France, Colombia and Spain.
A strong economy has left Brazilian football with plenty to spend on transfers and wages.
Ironically, it is money from the Brazilian arm of Spanish bank Santander that has kept striker Neymar at Santos, out of the clutches of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Elsewhere, the economic crisis and Financial Fair Play rules explain why the number of deals — 4,973 — was down nine percent compared to 2011 and the total value fell by 34 percent to £374million.
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