Gerónimo Rulli, who owns him? Well, according to Spanish newspaper AS it’s Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. So many things have been claimed on the transfer situation of the goalkeeper that it’s difficult to find certainty, and that’s got a lot to do with Deportivo Maldonado.
The Uruguayan second division club look to be as blatant a way around third party ownership as is possible. They own Jonathan Calleri, currently at West Ham, who has never played for the Uruguayan side and likely never will.
The idea is to loan players out, show their value, and then get a transfer fee, which will go to the investors via Deportivo Maldonado.
Manchester City were dragged in with Rulli, and AS say the 24 year old, who signed for Deportivo Maldonado in 2014 and spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad, wanted to stay at the Spanish club in the summer ‘but City, which has interests in the fund, got through’.
Manchester City interest would be little surprise, Rulli has been progressing well and with Joe Hart ostracised and Claudio Bravo failing to come close to impressing, Guardiola eyeing other options wouldn’t have been a surprise.
It’s further stated by AS ‘Then Aperribay, president of Real, negotiated his move and agreed that Real would pay seven million to City in January 2017 to make Rulli a complete Real Sociedad player’.
Messy, right?
According to AS, Manchester City are on the verge of completing the €7m transfer for a player who didn’t ever seem to be really theirs.
