“It doesn’t make sense for Brazil to try to compete with European clubs in terms of finances,” Fluminense coach Renato Gaúcho said through a translator. “Brazilian clubs trade players and sell them to Europe so they can survive, and that’s been true even since I was a player.”

João Pedro was a Brighton striker. Last decade, he spent eight years in the youth academy at Fluminense. On Tuesday, he beat Fluminense in a Club World Cup semifinal playing for Chelsea.

The 23-year-old Brazilian international moved to Rio de Janeiro to join the Fluminense youth academy at the age of 10, before moving to England (Watford, Brighton and now Chelsea) shortly after his 18th birthday in 2019.