Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has hit out at Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, suggesting the player went back on his word before his move to St James’ Park.
The Brazilian midfielder joined Newcastle in a £37.89m deal at the end of the January transfer window in one of the biggest moves of the month.
The 24-year-old’s departure has not gone down well at the French club, whose fans were not happy to see their star man depart the club midway through the season.
It’s been made clear that the offer from Newcastle was simply one that Lyon simply could not refuse.
Indeed, the transfer has been presented as something of a positive given the club were able to bring in Romain Faivre and Tanguy Ndombele as replacements with money to spare.
He recently sat down for a chat with L’Equipe and, when asked about a contract renewal for Maxence Caqueret, aimed a barb at the Newcastle man.
“We won’t extend Maxence Caqueret at any price, but we absolutely want him to stay,” he said.
“He said he didn’t know if he was going to stay, but you shouldn’t rely on players’ statements: Bruno Guimaraes said he absolutely wanted to stay, and he left, and not only because of us.”
