Brazilian Transfer Window Points to Bad Times Ahead in Domestic Football

We are used to seeing the Campeonato Brasileiro's biggest stars make the understandable switch to Europe. At some point in a career path whose destiny is upwards, there comes the need to test yourself against better, stronger, more demanding talents.

Some, such as Ronaldo Fenomeno, Daniel Alves, Kaka, and more recently Neymar, can make the transition, adapting to a technical level far superior to their domestic championship.

But recently a new trend has been developing, and it should be of deep concern to Brazilian football. This transfer window has seen two of last season's standout performers, Ricardo Goulart and Diego Tardelli, of league champions Cruzeiro and cup winners Atletico Mineiro respectively, leave for Chinese football.

Last week, Guangzhou Evergrande announced the arrival of Goulart, for a fee of R$24 million, as reported by Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese). Tardelli—who has been one of the success stories for Dunga and the Selecao—joined Shandon Lueng, as reported by Gazeta do Povo (link in Portuguese).

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Goulart had also made his first tentative steps in international football during Dunga's rebuilding mission. How likely those Brazil chances will come playing in the Chinese league remains to be seen.

Shandong Lueng coach Cuca, who led Atletico Mineiro to that Copa Libertadores triumph, has already warned his compatriot that international football will be harder to come by at his new club, as reported by ESPN (link in Portuguese).

Which could feasibly lead someone to the suggestion that a player's motive for moving to such a club was not entirely professional. In purely sporting terms, it is a move of great risk, the jeopardy of a potential international future.

In financial terms, perhaps the level of remuneration makes that calculated gamble a little more worthwhile. But even so, it could set a potentially worrying trend for the future of Brazil's own league championship, already much maligned.

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One can understand, even accept, that the best players will inevitably head to Europe. What these latest developments indicate is that the league's best players, and those on the fringes of the national side, prefer a stint in a relative footballing backwater.

It can only be a cause for concern for the level of quality to be found in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Goulart and Tardelli were two of the best players in the division in 2014.

From an attacking midfield position, Goulart found the net on 13 occasions in juts 24 league appearances last term, per Whoscored.com.

The more experienced Tardelli meanwhile managed just 10 strikes, also per Whoscored.com, but what the stats do not show is the contribution he made in terms of on-field leadership, particularly to the likes of Luan and Carlos, who will surely now carry the creative and offensive burdens for the Belo Horizonte outfit in 2015.

But what must also be kept in mind is the relative level of the pair across the global spectrum. This is not Neymar, Ronaldo, Oscar, brimming with potential. Tardelli is a striver, an effective workman but rarely a game-changer on his own, whereas Goulart has also prospered in the shadow of the more aesthetically pleasing Everton Ribeiro.

These may be Brazil's best domestically, but they certainly do not reach the levels set by some of their predecessors. It is true there are others breaking through the ranks—Lucas Silva is already making a name for himself, and in Marlon and Gerson, Fluminense have a couple of real prospects on their hands—indeed, it was Gerson who set up both of Brazil's goals in their U-20 South American championship win over Chile last week.

Nevertheless, the transfers of Goulart and Tardelli send a shiver down the spine with 2015 barely under way. One more criticism to add to Brazil's domestic game is the fact they cannot hold on to the good, let alone the top-class players—and that doesn't bode well for this season's Brasileirao.