Portugal’s Mais Futebol reported on Tuesday evening that Pep Guardiola took a private jet on Monday night to take a look at Benfica’s Alex Grimaldo.
Grimaldo moved to Benfica in January, having come through the youth ranks at Barcelona. The 21 year old moved on a permanent deal and Mais say Barcelona failed to get a buyback clause, but did agree a percentage of a future sale.
Mais Futbol explain that Manchester City didn’t request official tickets from Benfica because they wanted the trip to be undercover, Guardiola is said to have flown along with his brother, the agent Pere Guardiola.
Grimaldo had a good match for Benfica against Braga, playing at left back as the Lisbon club won 3-1. Portuguese newspaper A Bola rated him as one of the best performers on the pitch.
At the beginning of September we covered a claim from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo which said Guardiola was keen on the youngster, and Manchester City had contacted the player’s agent Amadeo Rengel to learn possible conditions of a future transfer.
Benfica have Grimaldo on a contract lasting until 2021 with a €60m buyout clause.
