Knowing exactly what buying clubs need

Brazilian clubs are consistently a rich source of talent for the top teams in Europe, but even for one of their top sides, SC Internacional, maximising crucial transfer revenue and driving interest in the lesser-known talents in their squad has been difficult.

With a rich history of producing top young talents, Internacional have sold players for more than €360million since 2002, including big names such as Oscar, Alexandre Pato and Alisson Becker, but the shop window has typically been for their most high-profile players.

Through TransferRoom, they have been able to showcase all of their talents to a world of new markets.

Driven by a proactive transfer strategy managed by Deive Bandeira, Head of Transfer Management, Internacional was one of the first South American sides to commit to TransferRoom in 2020.

With direct access to more than 650 clubs in 60 countries worldwide, they have found regular success sending targeted pitches to the markets of their choice and understanding what potential buyers are looking for with real-time data.

Internacional's partnership with TransferRoom was renewed in 2023 after a series of transfer window successes under the leadership of William Thomas, the Director of Football, in which they were able to strike deals in new territories including Bulgaria and Poland.

“The top players, speaking about top clubs… they know how to find us and we know how to find them," says Bandeira, considered one of the top recruitment executives in Brazilian football, in the video below.

“But these medium-sized clubs, a new world was opened with TransferRoom and we now have connections in different countries at different levels.”

That transfer market success included a double deal with Ludogorets Razgrad with Pedro Henrique and Nonato moving for a combined €2.6million after pitches to the Bulgarian club on the platform.

“We have connections with the guys from Ludogorets, but to understand which position and profile they're looking for, with TransferRoom it was easier for us,” Bandeira adds.

“We started negotiations on the platform, and in the end two players are happy playing European football with Ludogorets. We are totally happy with the situation.”

Market intelligence opens up new pathways

Internacional also moved Léo Borges to Pogon Szczecin, one of the clubs benefiting from Poland’s league deal on TransferRoom, in the same summer, opening up a new market.

That deal came from identifying that Pogon were in the market for a left-back.

On TransferRoom, clubs get direct notifications when a club is looking for a player profile similar to one of their players. Internacional quickly met their transfer market needs by pitching wing-back Borges.

Bandeira adds: “We were almost closing a deal for Léo Borges in another country, and we did the deal with the guys from Poland. They are totally happy with the player and we opened a new market. Years ago it was impossible for us to have this kind of situation in the last days of the window.”

Where will they pitch next?

For Internacional, TransferRoom is giving them the platform to broaden their network even further. Major League Soccer and Mexico's Liga MX are key priorities for Bandeira, with both signing league-wide deals to give all their clubs access to the platform, while he is targeting a breakthrough in the Asian transfer market. 

"In my opinion, we are strong in Europe," Bandeira adds. "We have contacts from many years ago.

"The platform helped us to build connections in MLS and Mexico. Asia is a region we have to be more aggressive in, to get more contacts. Maybe it can be the next step for us and TransferRoom."

Bandeira was speaking at a TransferRoom Summit, and attending such events has allowed Internacional to build their network further while saving time and money by holding weeks' worth of one-to-one meetings with club decision makers in the space of a few days. 

In the global rankings of meetings held at TransferRoom events, Internacional is the highest-placed South American club and in the top 10 overall, holding 183 meetings with 143 clubs across 11 different Summits.