Zenit has signed a contract until 2027 with Brazilian forward Artur, who played for Palmeiras.

The flagship of domestic football, Zenit, which went on the winter break, two points behind the leader of the Russian championship, Krasnodar, showed surprising activity on the market by today’s standards in the first days of the next transfer window. He acquired three players from Brazil at once – a country that has recently regularly supplied the club with valuable personnel: defender Nina, as well as forwards Pedro and Arthur. In total, Zenit spent almost €30 million on them.

St. Petersburg Zenit announced on concluding a contract until 2027 with an option to extend for a season with the Brazilian forward Arthur, who played for Palmeiras. This is a very significant deal for the Russian Premier League (RPL). Chairman of the Board of Zenit Alexander Medvedev confirmed that its cost was €15 million.

By today’s RPL standards, the amount looks almost gigantic. The last player worth more than €15 million who came to the domestic championship was also Brazilian forward Yuri Alberto, who had already left Russia, acquired by Zenit in January 2022 from Corinthians. According to Transfermarkt, it cost the club, which had won five previous Russian championships, €25 million. After the start of a special military operation in Ukraine and the subsequent harsh international sanctions, RPL clubs sharply reduced transfer spending. For example, during the summer window before the current season, their most expensive purchase was the one made by Dynamo.

The cost of transferring Brazilian playmaker Bitellu to the Moscow team from Grêmio was allegedly €10 million.

In Arthur, Zenit received a football player who was quite highly regarded in his homeland. Playing in several positions in attack and midfield, he was named to the Brazilian championship team in 2021, and in 2023 he scored 10 goals in 51 official matches for the gold-winning Palmeiras, often performing playmaking functions. Another Brazilian, much more famous, previously had approximately the same role at Zenit. We are talking about the top scorer of the last Russian championship, Malcolm, who was sold to Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia in August for €60 million.

What makes the news about Arthur’s transfer doubly interesting is the fact that this is Zenit’s third Brazilian acquisition since the international transfer window opened on January 1. Prior to this, football players Nino and Pedro from Fluminense and Corinthians signed contracts with him. These are two very different players in every sense. Ninu, who is 26 years old, is already a very experienced central defender, having recently been called up to the Brazil national team. Forward Pedro, on the contrary, is extremely young – he will turn 18 in February – and Brazilian media resources classify him as a promising talent.

Both newcomers, like Arthur, are included in the category of players that are expensive for the RPL in its current state.

At the rate Transfermarktthe transfer cost for Nina was €5 million, and Pedro – €9 million. Thus, for the three Brazilians, Zenit paid a total of almost €30 million. Moreover, during the summer window before the season, St. Petersburg invested half as much in recruits – € 16 million, despite the fact that it is in the summer, as a rule, that clubs are most active in the market.

Zenit showed generosity when, before the winter break in the Russian Championship, it found itself in the unusual status of catching up. He went to it, taking second place in the championship and two points behind Krasnodar, who leads the table.

The Brazilian direction has long become almost the main one for Zenit in its selection strategy. Thanks to him, over the past few years he has constantly found valuable personnel that strengthened the team. And after the January transfers, Zenit’s roster now included ten Brazilians. In addition to Arthur, Nina and Pedro, these are Claudinho, Rodrigao, Douglas Santos, Wendel, Eduardo Queiroz, Gustavo Mantuan and Mario Fernandez (the latter, however, not only, like Claudinho, has Russian citizenship, but also played for the Russian national team). Moreover, most of them are key characters in the team.

Alexey Dospehov