Uruguayan second-tier side Deportivo Maldonado average crowds of less than 350 but are vying for the hottest South American starlets with the world’s richest football clubs. How? FFT investigates…
In a summer when Paul Pogba broke news of his own £89 million move to Manchester United, Chelsea surprisingly re-signed David Luiz for £30m and Arsenal, for some reason, desperately tried to capture Jamie Vardy, perhaps one of the transfer window’s most unusual deals went largely unnoticed.
When Argentina Under-23 striker Jonathan Calleri confirmed his loan switch to West Ham United in the middle of August 2016, the media coverage was fairly minimal. Even the frankly dreadful Simone Zaza, who also arrived on loan in east London during the same month, caused more fanfare. The Hammers had reportedly paid a £4m loan fee and have an option to buy the Argentine for £16m, a deal that would represent a tidy and rapid profit for a club whose gates rarely surpass a few hundred.
Calleri is a product of the All Boys youth academy – the same club where Carlos Tevez, another Argentine player to have turned out for the Hammers, began his career. In fact, both moved from All Boys, now in the Argentine Second Division, to Boca Juniors. But that is where the two career paths veer off in very different directions.
In January 2016, 18 months after acquiring a 20-year-old Calleri for £765,000, Boca sold him on for £9.3m.
But what stood out the most wasn’t that whopping 1,115 per cent mark-up on a player who had played just 41 league matches for the Bombonera club, rather the fact that the buyer was not your typical plunderer of hot South American talent. Not PSG, Benfica, Real Madrid or Juventus. Not even Shanghai Shenhua or Guangzhou Evergrande. No, the outfit that had enough money to fork out almost £10m for the youngster was Deportivo Maldonado.
Who? Well, quite.
This story is from the March 2017 edition of FourFourTwo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2017 edition of FourFourTwo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WHAT WOULD WOODWARD DO?
Sir Dave Brailsford isn't football's first interloping innovator from another sport, as Southampton fans will recall
THE ARQUND GROUNDS EFL-NON-LEAGUE-SCOTLAND
The Wigan gaffer on why he could have taken up tennis, seeking Sir Alex's advice and memories of cup glory with the Latics
HOW LUTON TOWN BECAME A PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM
The Hatters were tipped to finish bottom of the table at the start of the campaign, but have adapted their game to give themselves a chance of avoiding the dreaded drop
"WE WON 3-0 AT SPURS.TWO GAMES LATER.IWAS SACKED"
Two-and-a-half years since his Manchester United reign came to an end, Ole Gunnar Solskjder sits down with FFT for a rare interview, opening up on the club’s post-Fergie struggles, Cristiano Ronaldo and the challenges of managing modern superstars
LOCAL HERO
Like Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sean Longstaff has shone for his boyhood club this season. The midfielder tells FFT all about his Newcastle revival under Eddie Howe, a £50m move to Manchester United that never was, and why he hasn't been herding sheep...
NOISY NEIGHBOURS
Part-owned by the City Football Group, minnows Girona emulated Manchester City by surging past Barcelona to gain Catalan supremacy and even topped La Liga this season. FFT speaks to those in the know to find out how
CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!
There's been plenty of noise around Trent Alexander-Arnold's performances for club and country over the past 12 months, but the man himself has maintained a cool head. Donning a retro shellsuit for FFT, the Merseyside maestro insists he's still got lofty ambitions - none more so than becoming the best footballer on the planet...
THE DEBATE
Are the Financial Fair Play rules really working?
ENGLISHMEN ABROAD
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup resumes in various parts of the globe this month meet five English managers hoping to steer their adopted nations to unlikely success
MY FOOTBALL
The Barking-born singer-songwriter and activist recalls meeting Bobby Moore, making Stuart Pearce roar, and playing a gig during a Euros final