The Civil Police of the State of Rio Grande do Sul have reportedly charged a man accused of impersonating an agent to negotiate with Premier League clubs.
As reported by website UOL on Friday, the 32-year-old criminal had his home visited by police officers, who found forged letters from clubs such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton.
These letters were made to ‘authorise’ him to open negotiations on behalf of these clubs. In order to convince Brazilian clubs and agents, he also forged message relays with international phone numbers, and used these screenshots to prove he had been working for these sides.
Another factor that made the fake agent sound more reliable is that he claimed to be a partner of the former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
According to UOL, the police found out that among the negotiations he participated, there were talks with Everton officials for the transfer of Luan, from Grêmo.
It’s said that two suspicions revealed the crime. First, despite claiming that he lived in London, the fake agent would never post anything about his trips on social media.
“He said he was always traveling, but never posted anything on social networks and always justified it somehow. Anyone traveling in this medium, usually posts and he didn’t,” a source told UOL.
Another thing that made club officials and agents doubt his identity is that he arrived at a meeting driving a Ford Ka, which would definitely not be a car for an international agent’s standards.
The police initially wanted the man to be immediately arrested, but the court denied. The criminal, who’s a law student, will now be charged for fraud offences.
