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contratados a peso de ouro

English translation: hired by their weight in gold/paid their weight in gold

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:contratados a peso de ouro
English translation:hired by their weight in gold/paid their weight in gold
Entered by: Luana Fernandes

12:41 Jan 13, 2014
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Portuguese term or phrase: contratados a peso de ouro
Atualmente é comum lermos nas primeiras páginas dos jornais e revistas de negócio a história de profissionais que foram contratados a peso de ouro, mas que logo desistiram das posições, foram sumariamente demitidos, fracassaram em seus objetivos estratégicos ou caíram em desgraça simplesmente.
Luana Fernandes
Brazil
Local time: 21:37
hired by their weight in gold/paid their weight in gold
Explanation:
https://www.google.com/#q=pago em peso de ouro (paid by his ...

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Note added at 21 minutos (2014-01-13 13:03:12 GMT)
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I would use

"paid their weight in gold", it's more common in English.
Selected response from:

Marlene Curtis
United States
Local time: 20:37
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7hired by their weight in gold/paid their weight in gold
Marlene Curtis
4 +1hired for a fortune
judith ryan
3 +2sold for their weight in gold
T o b i a s


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
hired by their weight in gold/paid their weight in gold


Explanation:
https://www.google.com/#q=pago em peso de ouro (paid by his ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 minutos (2014-01-13 13:03:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I would use

"paid their weight in gold", it's more common in English.

Marlene Curtis
United States
Local time: 20:37
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 70

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Verginia Ophof
14 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Paulinho Fonseca
17 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Nick Taylor: Yes,
57 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Spiridon: yes
2 hrs
  -> Thanks!
agree  Tatiana Elizabeth: Tatiana Elizabeth
4 hrs
  -> Grata!
agree  Richard Purdom: paid their weight in gold
5 hrs
  -> Yes, Thanks!
agree  rir
5 hrs
  -> Grata!
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
hired for a fortune


Explanation:
In my view, "their weight in gold" sounds odd in English, this captures the essence

judith ryan
Brazil
Local time: 21:37
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  T o b i a s: Good.
49 mins
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
sold for their weight in gold


Explanation:
Obviously not a literal translation. Common parlance. Too, I assume they're talking about the transfer fee, which is what usually makes the headlines.

I think this should be a more commonly-used metric for transfer fees. C. Ronaldo was sold for 30 times his weight in gold.
The human body is pretty much 1g/cm3, and gold is like 19g/cm3, so the fact that Ibrahimović was sold for 19 times his weight in gold means that it would have cost the same to make a life-size statue of him in gold as it did to buy him. What fun.
http://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1bqusn/which_player_...



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Note added at 8 hrs (2014-01-13 20:42:39 GMT)
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Re: "THe context does not mention footballers being sold to foreign football teams, but professionals being hired."

Don't recall saying the context was about football. It may well not be. But given the insistence that it's not, the following seem relevant -


Depois do campeonato, transferiu-se ao Boca Juniors, tendo alcançado o feito, muito comentado na época, de ter sido campeão em três países diferentes em pouco mais de um ano. Leônidas tornou-se um dos profissionais que foram contratados pela CBD, que praticava o amadorismo marrom, para participarem da Copa de 1934. Na volta, Leônidas foi transferido ao Botafogo.
http://www.netvasco.com.br/mauroprais/vasco/histor2.html

No entanto o dirigente fez questão de ressaltar que, que com a estrutura do clube, os profissionais que foram contratados e a capacidade e conhecimento do presidente, o ex-capitão da seleção brasileira, Emerson da Rosa, o projeto caminha para a formação de grandes talentos para o futebol
http://www.futeboldaqui.com.br/site/wp/2011/07/01/fragata-fc...

Mesmo em paises da europa e ate mesmo no Japão, ja acopanhei casos de jogadores profissionais que foram contratados por clubes que alegaram que o atleta nao correspondeu as espectativas do clube, por esse motivo simplesmente dispensaram os jogadores que se viam em situacoes ridiculas, pois se nao fosse a ajuda de amigos e fas,nem onde tormir teriam.
http://br.ipcdigital.com/2013/06/13/sonhos-x-realidade/

A grande campanha que o clube vem realizando dentro e fora de campo também tem grandes profissionais que foram contratados como o técnico Paulo Comelli que após o acesso a diretoria fez todo esforço possível para manter a comissão técnica e a permanência do homem forte do futebol Alarcon Pacheco que havia trabalhado no Corinthians Alagoano por 13 anos e hoje é braço direito do presidente.
http://www.futebolinterior.com.br/clube/crb-al/210237 Alagoa...





T o b i a s
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 10

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  rir: pois, sao bem caros estes profissionais da bola
39 mins
neutral  Marlene Curtis: THe context does not mention footballers being sold to foreign football teams, but professionals being hired.
50 mins
agree  Muriel Vasconcellos: Or maybe "bought"? Either way, it's what we would say in everyday speech.
2 hrs
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