clubs doing shady deals with agents

This happens in Brazil too.

not to mention academy players are treated like shit here, kids debuting professionally when they’re 21/22 y.o. how the fuck are we supposed to compete when we don’t give them time to get experience from early on?

Here in Brazil, if you're a young player at the big clubs and you haven't made your professional debut until you're 21/22 years old, the chances of you succeeding are extremely low.

Players with the biggest potential (especially attacking players) will debut before they are 18. Defensive players start a little later.

Talking about Atlético Mineiro, for example... The club's board is under a lot of pressure to give more space to youngsters. It's part of the country's football culture.

Católica, who used to have a lot of promising academy players making it to the national team and Europe, is wasting so many players to make way for old, washed dudes.

I checked out Catolica's squad on Transfermarkt and saw Franco Di Santo there... Holy fuck, one of the worst strikers I've seen playing for Atlético Mineiro.

I'm 100% sure there's a young Chilean better than him.