体坛英语新闻：Corinthians make four of five biggest Brazilian transfers

SAO PAULO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Following the arrival of Brazilian international striker Alexandre Pato in recent days, world champions Corinthians have made four of Brazil's five most expensive transfer signings in history.

Pato arrived last week for a fee of 19.7 million dollars and is the club's second most expensive purchase. The most dear remains Manchester City and Argentina attacker Carlos Tevez, who joined Corinthians from Boca Juniors in 2004 for 22 million dollars.

Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano joined the same year as Tevez but from River Plate for 9.6 million dollars. He is the fifth most expensive Brazilian transfer.

All deals were done in the last eight years as Corinthians' world stature continues to grow. In 2006, Nilmar joined the club from French champions Lyon for 12.5 million dollars to be the third biggest piece of business.

The only deal not involving Corinthians to make the top five nevertheless involved Paulista clubs. Last September, Paolo Henrique Ganso joined Sao Paulo from Santos for 11.8 million dollars.

The pattern highlights Corinthians' meteoric rise from the second division to world champions in just five years. As the club's marketing efforts carry on reaping huge profits, they could soon overtake Flamengo as Brazil's most well supported and known club.