The Transfer Market Has Begun: The Worst and Best Times to Follow Football
Hello friends, how are you all doing?
After the end of the Brazilian football season, the speculation period begins. When I was younger, I really enjoyed this time of year because I was very anxious for news about my team's signings and keeping up to date on who was staying and who was leaving was normal for me.
As I grew older and matured in this regard, I started to filter this type of news more and more, because with the increase in YouTube channels about sports news, I began to realize that many use bad faith to spread certain news. Of course, there are still people who like to follow this type of niche, but I started to be more selective about who I watched to stay updated.
Once, I saw some sports journalists talking about player signings, and one reporter interviewed a club official (I don't remember which one right now) who said that if the official didn't say who the club was going to sign, the journalist would publish any name in the media, just to get the news out.
This is undoubtedly a reflection of the current state of journalism in Brazil, but I won't delve into that. What I really want to say is that in this period leading up to the start of the next season, we will be dealing with numerous news stories about the signing of high-profile players, but we don't actually know if they will materialize.
Furthermore, I recall that Flamengo began to adopt a very professional stance on this, stating that they would not reveal to the media which players were on their radar, while internet influencers were mentioning at least three names every day that had agreed to terms with Flamengo. Honestly, I no longer had the patience to follow them.
Recently, shortly before the season ended with the conclusion of the Brazilian championship, some journalists were already reporting the end of Thiago Silva's contract with Fluminense as a certainty. Everyone knows he's an idol at the club that nurtured him and that, probably due to his age, he would end his career at Fluminense, but there was speculation that he would leave Fluminense and sign a contract with Milan in Italy. This could even make sense, since Thiago Silva is an idol there too.
Everyone who thought he was going to Italy was only right about the destination, which would be Europe, but they got the country wrong. Today came the confirmation that the experienced defender has agreed to a transfer to Porto in Portugal. Although the contract is until the middle of next year, it has a clause that can extend it until the end of 2026.
In Flamengo alone, 60 players were speculated to be part of Filipe LuĂs' squad. That's crazy for those who usually follow these journalists/influencers who like clickbait. Well, as I told you, nowadays I don't chase after which player would come to my team, but I like to see how other teams are building their squads, but I don't chase after everything the internet exposes.
I hope that 2026 will be an incredible season for Flamengo once again, and I know that the team will need to replace some players, mainly rejuvenate the squad, as it is quite old. The other teams need to strengthen their squads too, because otherwise, Flamengo will win practically everything they compete for again.
Olá amigos, tudo bem com vocês?
ApĂłs o fim da temporada no futebol brasileiro, agora começa o perĂodo das especulações. Quando eu era mais jovem, eu gostava muito dessa Ă©poca, pois eu ficava muito ansioso pelas notĂcias do meu time sobre as contratações e ficar por dentro de quem ficava e quem saĂa, era algo normal para mim.
Na medida em que eu fui crescendo e amadurecendo nesse ponto, cada vez mais eu começava a filtrar esse tipo de notĂcias, pois com o aumento de canais de Youtube sobre notĂcias de esportes, comecei a perceber que muitos utilizam da má fĂ© para divulgar algumas notĂcias. É lĂłgico que ainda existem pessoas que gostam de acompanhar esse tipo de nicho, mas eu comecei a selecionar melhor em quem eu assistiria par ame atualizar.
Uma vez, vi que alguns jornalistas esportivos estavam conversando justamente sobre contratações e que um repĂłrter entrevistou um dirigente de um clube que nĂŁo estou lembrado agora e ele disse que se o tal dirigente nĂŁo dizer quem o clube iria contratar, o jornalista iria dizer na mĂdia qualquer nome, sĂł para dar a notĂcia.
Isso Ă© sem dĂşvidas o retrato que hoje Ă© o jornalismo no Brasil, mas nĂŁo vou me aprofundar sobre isso. O que quero mesmo dizer Ă© que nesse perĂodo atĂ© o inĂcio da prĂłxima temporada, iremos conviver com inĂşmeras notĂcias sobre contratações de jogadores midiáticos, mas que na verdade nĂŁo sabemos se realmente irá se concretizar.
AlĂ©m disso, lembro que o Flamengo começou a adotar uma postura muito profissional sobre isso, de que nĂŁo revelaria para a mĂdia quais jogadores estavam em seu radar, enquanto isso, os influencers na internet todos os dias diziam ao menos 3 nomes que estavam acertados com o rubro-negro. Sinceramente eu nĂŁo tinha mais paciĂŞncia para seguir eles.
Recentemente, um pouco antes da temporada encerrar com o fim do campeonato brasileiro, alguns jornalistas já davam como certa o fim do contrato de Thiago Silva que estava no Fluminense. Todos sabem que ele Ă© um Ădolo pelo clube que o formou e que provavelmente por conta da idade, ele encerraria sua carreira no Tricolor, mas especulavam que ele iria sair do Fluminense e acertaria um contrato com o Milan da Itália. Isso poderia atĂ© fazer sentido, pois Thiago Silva Ă© Ădolo por lá tambĂ©m.
SĂł que todos que achavam que ele iria para Itália, acertaram apenas o destino que seria a Europa, mas erram o paĂs. Hoje veio a confirmação de que o zagueiro experiente acertou sua transferĂŞncia para o Porto de Portugal. Apesar de que o contrato Ă© atĂ© o meio ano que vem, mas com uma clausula que pode se estender atĂ© o final de 2026.
Somente no Flamengo, 60 jogadores foram especulados para compor o elenco de Filipe LuĂs. Isso Ă© uma loucura para quem costuma acompanhar esses jornalistas/influenciadores quem gostam de “caça cliques”. Bem, como eu disse para vocĂŞs, hoje em dia nĂŁo corro atrás de qual jogador viria para o meu time, mas gosto de ver como os outros times estĂŁo formando seus elencos, mas ficar correndo atrás de tudo que a internet expõe eu nĂŁo faço isso.
Espero que em 2026 seja uma incrĂvel temporada para o Flamengo mais uma vez e sei que o time vai precisar repor algumas peças, principalmente rejuvenescer o elenco, pois está bastante velho. Que os outros times tambĂ©m se reforcem, pois caso contrário, o Flamengo ganhará praticamente tudo que disputar novamente.
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Great reflection my friend—you really nailed the exhausting cycle of football transfer speculation! It’s interesting how, as fans, we often start out hungry for every rumor, only to realize later how much of it is noise driven by clicks, not facts. The quote from that club official says it all: when silence is treated as a vacuum to be filled with pure fabrication, it’s less journalism and more fiction with a deadline.
Your point about Flamengo’s shift toward discretion shows how clubs are (finally) pushing back against the rumor mill—and smartly so. And Thiago Silva’s move to Porto is a perfect example of how even “obvious” narratives (Milan, retirement at Fluminense) can be upended by reality. That’s why I’ve also learned to take most off-season “confirmed signings” with a grain of salt until the contract is signed and the photo with the jersey is posted!
It’s healthy to step back and enjoy the game without getting swept up in the circus.
Here’s hoping 2026 brings not just trophies for Flamengo, but also a bit more sanity to the transfer discourse.
Thanks, friend!
I also hope Flamengo has a great season in 2026.