Quique Sánchez Flores to Stoke City… what happened there then?
A deal which looked completely done and missing only an announcement fell to pieces on Saturday, leaving Stoke City to look elsewhere.
Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo take claims from radio in the country to give what they believe is some background.
Stoke City fans may remember that early in the chase some Spanish claims said Stoke wouldn’t have to pay the €4m release clause for QSF, but now it’s revealed there was a twist.
Espanyol would have allowed their manager to leave for nothing as long as Stoke bought one of the club’s players for €20m, according to the claims.
QSF wanted Stoke City to sign one of David Lopez, Gerard or Baptistao now and one in the summer, but then things didn’t progress.
Mundo Deportivo say Stoke ‘couldn’t cope with the economic demands’ of QSF, but they don’t make it clear whether that’s related to the manager’s salary or the players he wanted to bring with him.
Back at Espanyol, Quique Sánchez Flores was greeted by a mixture of applause and whistles by the club’s fans on Sunday.
