Following a couple of days with the Brazilian media running stories regarding Corinthians’ interest in Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani, the subject ended up being a topic in a press conference held by the club on Tuesday afternoon.
Directors Roberto de Andrade and Alessandro Nunes both spoke to the local media today, and amid the many questions about the Uruguayan star, they claimed there’s no concrete talks for the signing for now, despite not ruling out an attempt in the future.
“The reality is like this: Corinthians are looking for a number nine, everyone knows that, and these names were not mentioned by us. They are great athletes in the world, we had no contact with Cavani, much less with Suarez,” said Roberto de Andrade (via Globo Esporte).
“But we cannot underestimate Corinthians. When the talk about Willian came out, everyone said it was impossible for what he earned in Europe, and it worked. But there are big names that we monitor, others are also at the end of their contract, which makes it easier. But from those names you mentioned we didn’t talk to anyone, we don’t know if they want to play in Brazil. We had no contact with him, we don’t know where it came from.”
“But we don’t rule out anyone, anything is possible. The most that can happen is that we discover that we don’t have the conditions. Let’s not create misleading expectations for the fans, because it may not go forward at all.”
“As Roberto very well said, there was no situation that we could bring to you regarding terms, values, periods. He’s an exceptional athlete, his career speaks for itself. He’s an athlete of total capacity, if one day there’s the possibility to wear the Corinthians shirt. Corinthians are as great as the athlete’s career”, concluded Alessandro Nunes.
Despite Corinthians’ denial, Globo Esporte sticks to its claims when covering the quotes.
They insist that the Manchester United striker’s brother Walter Guglielmone demanded a three-year contract in the talks.
They say that with the rumour getting quite big, the Brazilian side were careful when talking about it, as the failure in the negotiations could create a big frustration for the fans.
Cavani’s contract with Manchester United expires in the summer, and South American sides have started being interested in signing him for free as he’s never hidden his wish to move closer to Uruguay towards the back end of his career.
