Lucas Moura eventually joined PSG for a reported €40m, but his agent reveals “he had said yes to Inter and never wanted” to come to Manchester United.
Lucas Moura eventually joined PSG for a reported €40m, but his agent reveals “he had said yes to Inter and never wanted” to come to Manchester United.
The Sao Paolo attacking midfielder was at the centre of one of the summer’s transfer soap operas before agreeing a move to Paris Saint-Germain, though he’ll remain in Brazil until January 2013.
“I can clarify how things went, seeing as I was the person hired by the player and his entourage to look after his interests in Italy,” agent Roberto Calenda told Sky Sport Italia.
“Inter began courting him a year and a half ago. Lucas’ family visited Milan and saw a Champions League game at San Siro when Claudio Ranieri was the Coach.”
The British media had suggested Manchester United were very close to an agreement, but Calenda insists that was never an option.
“There were other interested parties, above all Real Madrid, but less so Manchester United, as he never wanted to go there.
“At the end of the day the player had chosen Italy and said yes to Inter. It wasn’t just a verbal agreement, as he had authorisation from Sao Paolo.
“However, this opened the door for PSG, as Sao Paolo had already confirmed they were willing to sell. Inter had the opportunity to close the deal, but they chose not to because of the financial crisis.”
It’s believed the Nerazzurri turned down the chance to sign Lucas for €25m as they considered him too expensive, but PSG eventually swooped with a huge €40m move.