Two years ago, Sporting were going through a huge nightmare. Following the attacks at the Alcochete training centre, several players decided to rescind their contracts with the club.
One of them was Rui Patrício. He became a free agent in the summer of 2018, and signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
To avoid legal problems, Wolves chose to pay Sporting a fee, as if it was a regular transfer. Rui Patrício has given up on signing prizes just so the English side would give the Lions more money.
Sporting president Frederico Varandas has been interviewed by local newspaper Record this week, and had a little to say about it, confirming that the goalkeeper gave up on some big money.
First asked if the agreement for the departures would’ve been possible without Jorge Mendes, he said: “In these cases he was fundamental. Like the players themselves, but more in the case of Rui Patrício, who gave up on a lot.”
Then he was asked if the exact amount was €5m, but he didn’t want to confirm it: “A lot. I will not speak. Let Rui speak. Wolverhampton just wanted to come up with an amount. Their lawyers said they won the case, so they didn’t want to raise up. I told them that there would be no agreement. Rui himself gave up a lot to reach an agreement with Sporting.”
