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Brazil national team has only picked 'marketable' players by commercial partners since 2006, claim Sao Paulo newspaper

Estadao claim to have obtained a contract that proves allegations

Tom Sheen
Monday 18 May 2015 05:51 EDT
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Neymar of Brazil celebrates scoring against Croatia
Neymar of Brazil celebrates scoring against Croatia (Getty images)

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A newspaper has alleged that the Brazilian national team has been picked by sponsors and commercial partners since 2006, with only 'marketable' players selected.

Sao Paulo paper Estadao claim to have obtained a contract agreed between the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) and ISE, a firm based in the Cayman Islands with no employees, that states that only the Selecao's commercial partners can decide who plays for the team in international fixtures, with the manager having little to no say in team selection.

ISE are a front for Saudi Arabian company Dallah Al-Baraka, who have investments in numerous industries including finance, transport and healthcare.

The document clams that the CBF must make requests to ISE if they want to call up a player - and that player can only get the nod if he has an "equal marketing value".

The biggest stars have to start every game with ISE to be supplied with a genuine medical report to prove a player is injured, with the firm agreeing on a suitable replacement.

Article 9.1 reads: "The CBF will ensure and guarantee that these players who are playing in official competitions participate in any and every match."

Current Brazil manager Dunga
Current Brazil manager Dunga (PA)

The initial 10-year agreement was apparently renewed by former CBF President Ricardo Teixeira four years ago.

Any breach of the deal means the CBF is only paid half of the agreed $1.05million fee (£660,000).

The paper states that an example of this came in a November 2011 friendly against Egypt when Mano Menezes rested Kaka and Neymar, among others.

The contract also apparently states that all broadcast rights and copyright are signed over to ISE with violations resulting in $1m (£630,000) fines.

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