Gabriel Jesus had almost given up on his transfer to Manchester City, according to a private conversation between the player and his former agent.
The situation happened because there was a big dispute over the destination of funds from the transfer, as Fabio Caran, Gabriel’s old agent, claims he should’ve got 22.5% of the transfer amount, but never did.
Back in 2014, during Gabriel Jesus’ last contract renewal with Palmeiras, his economic rights got divided between the club (30%), his agent Cristiano Simões (47.5%) and former agent Fabio Caran (22.5%).
Fabio Caran’s share was registered by his wife’s individual company called Naima Ferreira Ltda. The problem is that the contract said these rights couldn’t be transferred, and now Naima Ferreira owns only 1% of the company, having sold the major part to the businessmen Mahmud Ayesh and Marco Francisco Lopez Redondo.
Palmeiras considered this a violation of contract and didn’t pay for Caran’s share, meaning the club plan to keep 52.5% of the total price.
So Palmeiras is now in a legal case with Caran. And as a proof of defence, the agent has produced private conversations between him and Gabriel Jesus during which the player suggested he was right about the case.
In an image published by UOL, Gabriel says: “Fabio, you know how the president is. For me, Palmeiras should take only what is right. Seriously. Truly. But unfortunately, there are still people who are too selfish. I swear, I almost gave up this deal for Palmeiras to get anything.”
In a few more messages, this time with no image, UOL says the player told Caran: “Fabio, I told the guys to pay you right. I have can’t force them, I haven’t signed anything yet and until I sign we try. But, man, I can’t force the president to do something, and you know what he’s like.”
Gabriel wasn’t happy with the leak, so he released an official statement about the case, saying: “I regret the fact that an excerpt from a conversation with my former agent has been used out of context, incomplete and without any liability. Unfortunately, I was deceived and manipulated by a person who I trusted before.
“Using a private conversation that was ‘prepared’ with ulterior motives shows some of the nature and character of that person. It’s a shame, but my story with the fans, the Palmeiras board and the president Paulo Nobre is much bigger than that. I’ve already sent the case to my lawyers to take the appropriate action.”
Palmeiras sent UOL their response too, and claim this will not affect Gabriel Jesus’ relationship with the club: “Palmeiras were already aware of the content of the messages, and especially what is behind this conversation. The player explained the situation to the club board and made the case totally clear”.
