Over the years, the Premier League has been home to players from 111 different nationalities, consistently living up to its billing as a truly global league.
The league’s foreign exports have been setting the stage on fire since the inception of the Premier League and players from abroad have been subjects of some high-profile switches over the years.
The Premier League has a rich history of talent from Brazil and clubs haven’t shied away from paying top dollar to acquire some Samba magic. Below, we take a look at the five most expensive Brazilian signings in the league’s history:
Alisson Becker – 75 million euros
After Loris Karius’ blunders cost them the 2017-18 Champions League final, Liverpool decided to get a massive upgrade in the goalkeeper position and they did so by signing Alisson Becker from Roma for 75 million euros.
Alisson’s signing proved to be a masterstroke as the Brazilian has been a key part of Liverpool's Champions League and Premier League-winning campaigns. He won the golden glove in his Premier League campaign and was the man of the match in the 2018-19 Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Fred – 59 million euros
After a stellar season with Shakhtar Donetsk, Fred signed for Manchester United for 59 million euros in the summer of 2018 and the jury is still out on whether the midfielder is another one in a long list of South American flops at Old Trafford.
After a difficult first season, Fred was initially frozen out of the side at the start of the 2019/20 season, however, injuries to Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic gave Fred the opportunity to feature heavily in United’s starting XI and the Brazilian strung together a good run of performances. However, the signing of Bruno Fernandes and the return of Paul Pogba from injury has seen Fred’s playing time diminish yet again, and despite having a solid second season, it’s no secret that the Brazilian has really been worth the price Manchester United paid for his services.
Fabinho – 45 million euros
The same summer that Fred moved to Manchester United, Liverpool signed the Red Devils’ long-time midfield target Fabinho in a surprise deal from Monaco.
Like Alisson, Fabinho has been terrific for the Reds. The 26-year-old has been a constant fixture in Liverpool’s starting XI and dictates play from midfield at just the exact tempo that coach Jurgen Klopp demands from his side. Fabinho’s knack of scoring spectacular long-range goals have made him a fan-favourite at Merseyside and the Brazilian has been a huge part of their success over the past 24 months.
Joelinton – 44 million euros
After a decent season with Hoffenheim in 2018-19, where he bagged seven goals and seven assists for the Bundesliga side, Joelinton was signed by Newcastle United for an eye-watering 44 million euros.
Newcastle raised a lot of eyebrows with this move and fast-forward 12 months later, it’s evident why there were questions raised about Newcastle’s decision to acquire the Brazilian. Joelinton struggled to make any sort of impact in his debut campaign in the Premier League, scoring just two and assisting a couple in 38 appearances, a terrible return.
While there’s plenty of time for the 23-year-old to bounce back and prove everyone wrong, as of today, Newcastle’s decision to sign the striker is proving to be a bad investment.
Robinho – 43 million euros
Having been linked with a move to Chelsea, Robinho surprised the world by swapping Madrid for Manchester and joining City as the first huge marquee signing of the Sheikh Mansour era.
Robinho was outstanding in his first season in the Premier League, scoring 14 and assisting five, however, the Brazilian left the club in January 2010 for Italy on loan after failing to settle in the country. Robinho then made his move to Milan permanent in August 2010, ending his brief, but expensive spell in England.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Mike Egerton, Paul Ellis
