Dynamo signed an agreement with Brazilian Bitellu

Just before the closure of the summer transfer window in the Russian Premier League (RPL), his most expensive purchase was made by Dynamo Moscow. The club’s roster was joined by the 23-year-old Brazilian Bitella, a central midfielder who transferred from Grêmio. The transfer fee for this player, according to Transfermarkt, is €10 million.

The message about Bitellu’s transfer from Gremio to Dynamo appeared on the official website of the Moscow club closer to midnight, less than an hour before the summer transfer window in the Russian Premier League closed. It noted that the central midfielder, whose real name is Joao Paulo de Sousa Mares, signed a long-term agreement with the blue and white until 2028. Transfermarkt estimates the transfer price of the football player at €7 million, however, according to the same source and some other media resources, Dynamo paid €10 million for him. In mid-July, various sources reported that the Brazilian club was ready to pay approximately the same amount for Bitella one of the English giants is London’s Arsenal, but the negotiations ended without result.

Thus, Dynamo managed to make the most expensive purchase of the summer transfer window in the RPL. Prior to this, according to Transfermarkt, this was considered the acquisition by Zenit of Serbian defender Strahini Erakovic from Red Star Belgrade for €8 million. In this regard, the overall ratio of transfer income and expenses of RPL clubs changed somewhat in the summer, but remained positive – about € 26 million. The previous time this happened was quite a long time ago – five years ago.

Bitellu is a midfield player who, being focused on attacking actions, is able to play quite effectively close to his own penalty area. Born in the state of Parana in southern Brazil, he is a product of the Cascavel club. In 2018, Bitellu moved to one of the most famous Brazilian teams, Grêmio from Porto Alegre, where he first played for the youth team, and two years ago became a first-team player. According to the official Dynamo website, Bitellu played 92 matches for this team in various tournaments, scoring 17 goals and making eight assists, and recently made his debut for the Brazilian Olympic team in a match against the Moroccans. Bitellu’s potential is highly rated. It is no coincidence that while playing for Grêmio, he was recognized as the best football player in the Rio Grande do Sul state championship.

In any case, Dynamo is making a serious bet on this acquisition this season. Clearly using funds from the sale of 20-year-old attacking midfielder Arsen Zakharyan, who moved to Spanish Real Sociedad for €13 million in August, it acquired a more versatile footballer, also attack-oriented, but capable of doing more work. In general, after the arrival of Czech head coach Marcel Lička from Orenburg, the blue and whites are seriously restructuring. Previously, for €6.5 million, they acquired from the Pachuca club the first Mexican legionnaire in the history of the RPL – defensive midfielder Luis Chavez, who participated in his country’s national team in the 2022 World Cup, and also paid €3.5 million for the transfer from CSKA Colombian attacking midfielder Jorge Carrascal.

Note that, unlike other leading Russian clubs, Dynamo has not resorted to the services of Brazilian legionnaires in recent years. Apart from midfielder Joaozinho, who left this team three years ago and also had a Russian passport, the last player from Brazil to play for the blue and whites was striker Wanderson, who was not very noticeable in 13 matches in the season that ended in 2018 scored only one goal.

Evgeniy Fedyakov