It’s reported Inter will terminate their contract with Joao Mario by mutual consent, missing out on €7.5m so Benfica can sign him without Sporting CP taking legal action.
The €40m purchase from Sporting in 2016 has proved to be a total flop for the Nerazzurri, and a hugely costly one at that.
He had loans at West Ham, Lokomotiv Moscow and last season back to Sporting, who wanted to make the move permanent, but were offering only €3.5m.
Multiple reports note Benfica made a proposal worth €7.5m, but Inter were reticent to accept because they feared Sporting taking legal action.
That’s because part of the original 2016 sale included a clause where Inter would have to pay up to €30m if they sold Joao Mario to any Portuguese club other than Sporting.
Over the last few days, the Serie A side had their lawyers look at the contracts and Sportitalia this afternoon warn the situation is increasingly tense.
Instead, Inter are leaning towards a simple contract termination by mutual consent, allowing Joao Mario to sign for Benfica as a free agent.
It’d be one more insult to injury for the club, losing out on the €7.5m transfer fee.
Another Inter sale is going through, as today Andrew Gravillon is expected to sign for Reims, a loan with €3m option to buy that becomes an obligation after a certain number of appearances.
#Inter per Joao Mario si va sempre più verso la rescissione, poi firmerà con il #Benfica. Oggi firma anche #Gravillon con il #Reims: prestito con obbligo di riscatto (3M) al raggiungimento di un determinato numero di presenze. @tvdellosport #transfers
— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) July 11, 2021