Argentine side Vélez Sarsfield have reportedly rejected Manchester City’s new bid for winger Thiago Almada.
Outlet Olé reports this Monday that a €12m offer from the Premier League side has been turned down ‘in the past few hours’. The 18-year-old continues to be protected by a €16m release clause.
The talks have been confirmed by an unnamed Manchester City official, who’s been interviewed by Olé and claimed that the club are now giving up on the negotiations.
“A very good offer for a player who will be free in less than a year,” an official told Olé. “We’re withdrawing. We weren’t going to pay the clause when the player has less than one year left to go free.”
Olé points out that with this rejection, Vélez Sarsfield are now likely to renew Thiago Almada’s contract at the club. His release clause would be increased to €25m.
They also claim that Manchester City’s intention was to sign Almada now and let him develop during a loan spell at Portuguese side Sporting.
Since this saga started, most of the reports we’ve covered have come from the Portuguese media, with Sporting having some big hope of landing the player this summer. The local press believed the move was practically done, so it’s interesting to see the Argentine media denying it all now.
