By David Gold
July 6 – Clarence Seedorf has become the highest paid foreigner in Brazilian football after signing for Rio de Janeiro outfit Botafogo.
The Dutchman left AC Milan this summer and will play for Botafogo for the next two years.
Seedorf (pictured above) is the only player to win the Champions League with three different teams: Ajax in 1995; Real Madrid in 1998; and AC Milan in 2003 and 2007.
“Just a few days after his official farewell to AC Milan, Clarence Seedorf has traded his red and black colors for the black and white of Botafogo,” the player’s official website said.
Seedorf, who becomes the first European champion to move to a Brazilian club, trained with the likes of David Beckham at Los Angeles Galaxy before deciding to move to Rio.
Botafogo’s official website welcomed the 36-year-old and claimed that it was the biggest deal for a foreigner completed in the history of Brazilian football.
It is a significant marker of the growth of the Brazilian league, which has seen revenues increase significantly due to television rights in recent years.
Brazil’s league rose above that of Seedorf’s native Netherlands to become the sixth richest in the world earlier this year.
The league’s increasing stature has been marked by the number of high profile players that have stayed in Brazil longer before leaving for Europe, while others have returned to their homeland more quickly than they may have done previously.
Santos star Neymar, for example, earns a sum similar to that he could be paid in Europe, while Ronaldinho, Luis Fabiano and Deco are all back in Brazil after successful spells across the Atlantic.
However, with the end of the collective television rights deal for Brazilian clubs – which must now negotiate contracts individually – Seedorf’s signing will be crucial for Botafogo.
It could help them avoid falling behind some of their major Brazilian rivals, such as reigning champions Corinthians, who won this year’s Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night (July 4), and former champions Santos.
The signing is also a signal of Botafogo’s intent to reclaim the crown as Rio de Janeiro’s top club, having finished behind Vasco de Gama, Fluminense and Flamengo last year in the Brasileiro.
The Alvinegro are ninth in the Brasileiro having won three of their opening six games of the current campaign.
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