The Portuguese soccer registered a "commercial deficit" of 3.3 million euros (US$4.6 million) in the year 2008 because the import of players surpassed the external transfers, local press said on Thursday.

The soccer imports reached 61.7 million euros (US$85.7 million) and the exports 58.4 million euros (US$81.1 million), Portuguese clubs said as their accountancy was published on Thursday.

The analysts said that the negative balance reverted the rising tendency registered on the soccer transfers from Portuguese clubs to the exterior.

The "big three" of the Portuguese professional soccer Porto, Benfica and Sporting, register the highest number of contract and transfers, followed by Vitoria de Guimaraes, Braga, Maritimo and Nacaional.

The rest of the Portuguese clubs took the players who their contracts were about to finish or to those for spare on bigger clubs.

Benfica contributed to the highest commercial negative balance, with import players for 23.31 million euros (32.4 million dollars) and exports for short more of six million euros (US$8.34 million).

Porto was one of the ones who spent on foreign contractions, with 26.9 million euros (US$37.39 million) but I got a surplus of 49.4 million euros (US$68.6 million).

The positive balance of Porto was because its big transfers of player Bosingwa to the Chelsea club from England and of Quaresma to the Inter de Milan from Italy.

The Sporting spent 4.5 million euros (US$6.2 million) on contracting Russian Ismailov, transferred Purovic and kept is main players.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2009)