In the space of three months at the end of 2025, three of the biggest names in world sport put their names to projects in one small town on the Santa Catarina coast.

A Rafa Nadal Tennis Center. An "Ecossistema Neymar Jr." An official Paris Saint-Germain academy. All in Porto Belo.

Clients have been sending me the headlines ever since, and the question behind every message is the same: does this make Porto Belo a good place to buy? Here is what is actually being built, when it opens, and how I would think about it.

A Disclosure Before We Start

Weigsding Investments markets residential projects by MJ7 Empreendimentos, a builder in Balneário Perequê, Porto Belo. None of the three sports projects below belongs to MJ7. Each is being developed by a different company, named in its section. I have written this the way I would brief a client, not the way a brochure would.

What Is Actually Being Built

Rafa Nadal Tennis Center — ALL Resort Club Residence. The first Rafa Nadal Tennis Center in South America is scheduled to open in 2028 inside ALL Resort Club Residence, a residential and hotel development by All Wert. The plans include 17 tennis courts on clay and hard surfaces, eight indoor padel courts, an arena for 1,500 spectators, a gym, a shop and a café. CNN Brasil reports it will be the largest centre in the Nadal network, with capacity for up to 700 students a day.

Ecossistema Neymar Jr. — Porto Belo Lagos. Announced in October 2025, it is a sports complex with a high-performance training centre, padel and beach tennis courts, a football pitch, a hotel and a space dedicated to the player's career. It sits inside Porto Belo Lagos, a "smart city" project by JTA Empreendimentos e Urbanismo. Delivery is expected in 2027.

PSG Academy — Vivapark Porto Belo. This one already exists. The official Paris Saint-Germain school at Vivapark Porto Belo, the park neighbourhood developed by Vokkan, opened on 22 August 2026 with classes for children and teenagers. According to the developer, the academy is owned by the club rather than run under licence.

Two of the Three Are Still Plans. Price Them That Way.

Of the three, only the PSG Academy is operating today. The Neymar complex is due in 2027 and the Nadal centre in 2028.

Large projects often open later than announced, anywhere in the world. If a seller is pricing in a finished tennis centre down the road, you are paying today for something that does not exist yet. Renderings are renderings: before you pay for the view, confirm what is built, what is under construction and what is only approved.

None of this makes the announcements less significant. International sports brands choose their locations carefully, and all three chose Porto Belo. That is a real signal about where demand on this coast is heading. It is just not a completion certificate.

What the Price Data Says — and What It Doesn't

Porto Belo sits on the most expensive stretch of coast in Brazil.

In the August 2026 FipeZAP index, Itapema — Porto Belo's immediate neighbour — was the second most expensive city in the country at R$15,403 per square metre, behind only Vitória at R$15,650. Balneário Camboriú followed at R$15,343, Florianópolis at R$13,531 and Itajaí at R$13,354. Four of Brazil's five most expensive cities are in Santa Catarina.

Here is the part most marketing leaves out: FipeZAP does not cover Porto Belo itself.

The most-quoted local figure comes from DWV, a sales platform used by developers and brokers. It reports the average price of new units in Porto Belo rising from about R$5,500 to R$12,500 per square metre between 2020 and 2026. That is useful, but it tracks new launches rather than resales, and its methodology is not public. Treat it as a signal, not an index.

The demographic trend is independent and easier to trust. IBGE's 2026 estimate puts Porto Belo's population at 32,615, up 3.35% in a single year — one of the fastest growth rates in the state.

The Coastal Detail Foreign Buyers Miss: Terreno de Marinha

Much of Brazil's seafront is terreno de marinha — a 33-metre strip measured inland from the 1831 mean high-tide line, which belongs to the Federal Union. Private owners hold occupation or long-lease rights over that land, pay an annual charge, and pay laudêmio when the property is sold: 5% of the updated value of the land, excluding the buildings on it.

You can check a property's status with the federal property office (SPU) before you sign. Do it. It changes both your annual costs and your resale costs.

The "PEC das Praias", a constitutional amendment that would change this regime, has not moved in the Senate since March 2025. Plan on the current rules.

Buying as a Foreigner or a Brazilian Living Abroad

Your CPF. You need a CPF, the Brazilian taxpayer number, which non-residents can request through a Brazilian consulate. A CPF is a tax registration, not a residence permit. Brazil runs a separate residence route for property investors.

Transfer tax. ITBI in Porto Belo is 2% of the assessed value, and you need to pay it before the purchase can be registered.

Notary and registry. In Santa Catarina, notary and registry fees are set on a sliding scale by property value, with a cap per procedure, and the amounts are updated each January.

Currency. If you earn or save in euros or dollars, buying in Porto Belo is also a view on the Brazilian real. Decide how much of that risk you want before you decide how much property.

How I Would Approach Porto Belo

Buy the location, not the logo. The sports anchors bring visibility, families and year-round activity. The long-term value case still rests on the coast, the neighbours and how much new supply keeps arriving.

Separate what exists from what is promised. Put a date next to every amenity in the sales pitch — and ask who is building it.

Check the land and the builder. Confirm the marinha status and ask for the developer's delivered projects, not just its launches.

Benchmark against Itapema and Balneário Camboriú. That is where many Porto Belo buyers are coming from, and the only neighbouring prices with an independent index behind them.

Porto Belo has earned the attention. It deserves a careful buyer, not an excited one.

Looking at Porto Belo — including MJ7's projects in Balneário Perequê? Contact us at info@weigsding-investments.com or message us on WhatsApp. We work in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French, and we will tell you plainly what is built, what is planned and what the numbers support.

This article is general information, not investment, legal or tax advice. Project details and dates are as announced by their developers and reported in the sources below, and may change. Weigsding Investments markets projects by MJ7 Empreendimentos, which is not involved in the sports developments described.

Sources

CNN Brasil, "Rafa Nadal ganha megacentro de tênis no Brasil em projeto de luxo" (23 April 2026)
Rafa Nadal Academy International, "Rafa Nadal Tennis Center Porto Belo" (updated July 2026)
ge.globo SC, "Rafael Nadal terá primeira academia construída no Brasil" (26 November 2025)
G1 SC, "Neymar anuncia centro de treinamento de atletas de alta performance dentro de 'cidade inteligente' em SC" (22 October 2025)
Gazeta do Povo, "Neymar investe em megacomplexo esportivo e imobiliário no litoral de SC" (22 November 2025)
Vokkan, PSG Academy Vivapark announcement (15 December 2025) and opening (19 August 2026)
ND Mais and NSC Total, on the August 2026 FipeZAP index (9–10 September 2026)
ND Mais, on DWV price data for Porto Belo (15 September 2026)
ND Mais, on IBGE 2026 population estimates for Santa Catarina (28 August 2026)
Ministério da Gestão e da Inovação em Serviços Públicos, "Terrenos de marinha"; gov.br, "Calcular laudêmio" (updated January 2026)
Senado Federal, PEC 3/2022 status page
gov.br, "Inscrever no CPF no exterior"
Câmara de Vereadores de Porto Belo, on ITBI; ND Mais, on Santa Catarina notary and registry fees (2024)