As São Paulo winger Marquinhos edges closer to a move to Arsenal, there’s still some regret from his club for losing him for so little.
Due to a mistake in his contract, the youngster could become a free agent this summer. That’s why the Tricolor chose to sell him to the Gunners for only €3.5m instead of staying empty-handed.
Globo Esporte today features a long story on the process undergone by São Paulo for Marquinhos to renew this deal. The website had access to emails and claim there were several attempts to give him a new contract to stay in Brazil.
The outlet claims their last attempt was made on the 3rd of May, and ten days later, Arsenal’s offer was reported.
The Brazilian side then intensified the talks for a renewal, and amid those negotiations, his agent Bruno Paiva presented Arsenal’s bid.
Globo Esporte writes that both São Paulo and Marquinhos accepted the Gunners’ offer, and there’s expectation for the deal to be done in ten days, as the Premier League transfer window opens on the 10th of June.
The Tricolor reportedly believe the €3.5m amount to be ‘low’, but that’s what they had on the table in order to not lose him for free.
As for Arsenal, they are paying the first part of that fee in June and another during the second semester.
With Globo Esporte mentioning the pre-contract Marquinhos had with another English club, perhaps it’s true that Wolverhampton Wanderers had been in talks with him, as the Brazilian media reported that Wolves are taking legal action against the Arsenal move.
