From the Russian Zenit
©IMAGO
Brazilian football has no intention of stopping its hegemony and now Cruzeiro has written a new chapter in the market. The albiazul team signed Gerson, a midfielder with a past in Flamengo who He became the record signing in South American football. The midfielder comes from playing for the Russian Zenit and his purchase figure exceeded what was paid by Vitor Roque last year, who left FC Barcelona to wear the colors of Palmeiras for 25.5 million. Names such as Thiago Almada, Samuel Lino and Carlos Tévez appear in this ranking of star purchases, but none destined for a club outside of Brazil. Not even Argentina sneaks into Brazil’s power.
Gerson arrived at Cruzeiro for 27 million eurossixth millionaire transfer in his career. The midfielder has been a major player in the transfer market, as both European and South American clubs have paid really high figures for him, several of them over 20 million. When he was 19 years old, AS Roma paid 18.5 million for his services and then he was transferred to Flamengo for 13 million. The curious thing is that Flamengo sold him to Marseille for 20.5 million and less than two years later they bought him back for about 15 million, a club that paid almost 30 million for him in two different cycles. In mid-2025, Zenit put in 25 million and his time in Russia was brief.
The Russians only needed six months to make a profit on Gerson, who made the decision to return to Brazil for two million more. In total, The midfielder has moved 119.1 million in his career and he is the seventh best-placed Brazilian in that item. Neymar is king of the world with 400 million moved in just three signings, followed by Matheus Cunha with 192.2 million and Philippe Coutinho with 180.3 million. The curious thing is that Gerson was not a figure in Zenit and before becoming South America’s record purchase he only played 15 games with two goals and just under a thousand minutes on the field.
Flamengo has been his only long journey, since there he played 253 games with 19 goals, 34 assists and two Copa Libertadores titles. In Marseille, before returning to Brazil in 2023, Gerson played 61 games with 13 goals and 10 assists, numbers that could have propelled him in Europe before returning to Flamengo for almost five million less than what he initially paid. In Rome and Fiorentina, the latter on loan, Gerson played just over 40 games with each club, but the outcome was the same: he planned to return to the Brasileirão. All of his signings have been between South American and European clubs, a perfect pattern that will surely not stop at Cruzeiro.
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