The situation surrounding Gabriel Jesus is quickly turning into an absolute mess. There have been so many claims over the past 24 hours alone, that it’s hard to work out if the’s moving to England, Spain, Italy, or staying where he is in Brazil.
The claims go way back to April, when it was stated (by Estadao) Manchester United and Atletico Madrid had made offers for the player.
The 19-year-old is said to have a €30m release clause, but five clubs could get a discount: Manchester United, Bayern Munich, PSG, Barcelona and Real Madrid could all take him for €24m due to a clause in his contract.
Gabriel’s economic rights are divided between Palmeiras (30%), Cristiano Simões (32.5%), Fabio Caran (22.5%) and himself (15%).
At the time, the player’s agent Cristiano Simões told Sport Witness the claim of a bid was nothing but speculation: “As for the fact that Manchester United’s name was mentioned by Estadao, I don’t have much to say. It’s no more than speculation. That’s how I understand it, since I was not officially contacted by the club or its representative.
“Regarding the preference clause, or these five clubs, this subject comes into contractual issues, and so because of the confidentiality clause I can’t disclose the contract details.”
Simões added that Manchester United’s offer couldn’t be true because: “There wasn’t even a contact, at least not with me or the player.”
But the idea was a welcome one: “Well, United are a world football force. Everyone dreams of playing there, but the thing is not so simple. We need to analyse aspects regarding the adaptation to food, climate, language, social interaction, among other things.”
Today it was claimed in both the Spanish and Brazilian media that Manchester City had agreed a deal for the player, worth up to €35m.
When asked today by Sport Witness about City’s offer, Cristiano Simões replied: “What offer?”
Estadao, in a fresh report, say ‘in the comings days’ Manchester United will make a €35m offer for Gabriel Jesus, but that wouldn’t make a lot of sense given they could instead activate the €24m clause. A release clause which Estadao have reported themselves.
Confusing doesn’t even cover it.
