Brazilian official Alexandre Mattos has now confirmed that his move to Reading is off.
The news had first been reported by journalist Jorge Nicola on Wednesday morning, claiming that the director had lost patience with the delay in getting his work visa.
Now in a report from UOL’s Mauro Cezar Pereira, Alexandre Mattos has released a statement explaining the reasons why he’s given up on the Reading job.
“As known by the sports media, I was invited to be the executive director of Reading Football Club, from England. The moment I got the invitation, I started taking care of all the bureaucratic part to get the work visa, but several factors have delayed the process causing the lack of definition of the time for obtaining the permission. In addition, the Coronavirus creates more difficulty in the whole process. In view of important sports decisions that need to be made and that would be my responsibility, without causing any harm to the investor and Reading, I need to leave the club and its owner entirely free so that the decision can be made to seek another professional on the market immediately.
“I want to take the opportunity to thank them for the interest in my work and tell the people who made me this honourable invitation that I will always be available, and already hoping that everything works out for Reading.”
Alexandre Mattos found a deal with Reading back in January, and has been trying to get the visa since then.
The reason why he’s given up seems to be an offer he has from Atlético Mineiro. It was reported last week that he’s told the Brazilian side he’d wait for the visa for a few more days, and in case it wasn’t granted, then he’d take their offer.
Following his decision, both Mauro Cezar Pereira and Jorge Nicola report that Mattos is very close to being announced by Atletico as their new football director.
