In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the likes of Aston Villa and Leeds United being linked to Porto midfielder Otávio, with reports from Portugal always pointing out a detail of his contract with Porto.
The midfielder is protected by the Dragons with a €60m release clause, and it was many times said there was a discount which would allow clubs to sign him for only €40m until the 15th of July.
So as newspaper A Bola today features a story with his agent Israel Oliveira, the official confirmed the change in his price.
He makes it clear, however, that it doesn’t necessarily means the player would leave more easily: “I don’t know why there’s so much confusion. I don’t know why they talk so much about clauses, when you know that 99% of them are negotiable.
A Bola points out Leeds were ‘one of the clubs who approached’ Porto for the signing, also showing that Aston Villa have been linked to the player as well.
Despite claims being made that the agent was in London to negotiate a transfer to the Premier League, Israel Oliveira turns it down.
“They said I was in London negotiating, they said so many things and I didn’t take a single step to negotiate Otávio, because he was never for sale!
“The president made it very clear that the player was not to be sold right at the opening of the window so, for me, it didn’t make sense to work against the president’s will if the player renewed just one year ago for four seasons.”
At one point, it was even said Aston Villa and Leeds had made offers for the transfer, but in this story from A Bola, those claims are ignored.
