The biggest Brazilian flops in European football

Known as one of the best footballing countries in the world, Brazil seemingly produces an endless number of talented players. However, there's also the other side, with many Brazilian stars trying their hand in Europe and falling well short of the mark. Here are the biggest Brazilian flops in European football.

Breno was called a huge talent when Bayern Munich bought him from São Paulo back in 2008. The Brazilian defender, however, failed to impress at Der Rekordmeister and 1. FC Nürnberg (loan). To top things off, he was arrested and got a three years and nine months prison sentence for "suspicion of aggravated arson".

Expectations were high when Manchester United signed Kleberson in 2003, but the 2002 World Cup winner never broke through at Old Trafford. He left United in 2005 for Besiktas.

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Another fine example of unfulfilled potential, Ganso was a star at Santos along with Neymar, who moved to Barcelona in 2013. The former followed in 2016, moving from São Paulo to Sevilla FC, but his Spanish adventure did not turn out as expected. After a short loan spell at French side Amiens SC, Ganso returned to Brasil.

'Seal dribbler' Kerlon made a name for himself from a young age onwards and landed at Chievo Verona in 2008 and at Internazionale one year later. However, it never came together in Italy and Europe for Kerlon, who retired in 2017.

FC Barcelona paid €14 million for Keirrison in 2009, but would soon regret that decision. The striker never played for the Catalan giant and left the club anonymously in 2014.

Real Betis paid €31.5 million for Denilson in 1998, a club record. However, the Brazilian never lived up to expectations and left for French side Girondins Bordeaux in 2005 for ... €480.000.

Vampeta came to Internazionale in 2000 after defending the likes of PSV Eindhoven a few seasons earlier. However, the midfielder failed to impress at the Nerrazuri and went on to play for PSG six months later. Vampeta was part of Adriano's transfer to Inter as a swap player, which means the Italian giant has something to thank him for after all.

Alexandre Pato's career at AC Milan started very well, but then things went downhill for the player, who struggled to ever live up to his huge potential.

The Brazilian forward moved from São Paulo to Inter Milan in 1995 as a promising star. Upon finishing his first season in Serie A, Inter then chose to sell him to Napoli at a loss. Caio would return to Brazil to play for Santos later that year after a two-year stint in Europe.

Vitor Flora was another promising Brazilian talent who went off to join Liverpool's reserves in 2008. After almost signing for Juventus, Rafa Benitez secured the deal for his English side.

Image source: Instagram, @vitorcflora

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Flora arrived at the club in the middle of an internal civil war. Rafa Benitez (head coach of Liverpool at the time) wanted control over every aspect of the club, including the youth system, but it was denied, according to Marca. In response to this, the Spanish coach built a reserve team made of individuals that had chosen rather than those from the club's academy... Flora was one.

Manchester City broke the bank in 2009, spending no less than €24 million on Jô. The Brazilian, however, failed to shine like he did before at CSKA Moscow and went down in history as one of his country's biggest flops in European football.

Fabio da Silva came to Manchester United from Fluminense in 2008, but the right-back never really broke through. After a loan spell at QPR, he left United for Cardiff in January 2014 for free, a year and a half before his twin brother Rafael left the Red Devils for Olympique Lyon.

Gabriel Barbosa was signed by Inter in 2016 for €29.5 million, a fee the Brazilian never lived up to. Barbosa only scored one goal for the Nerrazzuri, who sent the player on different loan spells, before selling him to Flamengo in 2020.

Lucas Piazon was signed by Chelsea in 2012, with the Blues expecting big things from the midfielder, who never broke through at Stamford Bridge and now plays for SC Braga.

Carlos Alberto is a special case, as he won the Champions League back in 2004 with José Mourinho's Porto. That was the highlight of Alberto's European career, who only played for Werder Bremen and several Brazilian clubs after that.

Arsenal had high hopes for Denilson in 2006. The Brazilian midfielder, however, never played his best football in London and left the club on a free transfer in 2013.

There are many other players that could have got a spot on this list. We could also have included Geovani (FC Barcelona), Kenedy (Chelsea) and Caio Robeiro (Inter), but also more established players who never really lived up to their full potential in Europe, such as Adriano, Robinho or Oscar.

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