Feyenoord should have jumped at the opportunity to sell Givairo Read to Nottingham Forest this summer, particularly for €30m.
That’s the opinion of journalist Kenneth Perez, who cannot believe that the Dutch club turned away interest from Roma and Nottingham Forest.
Read looked extremely likely to leave Feyenoord this summer after establishing himself as one of the rising talents in Dutch football.
The 20-year-old right-back is highly rated, to say the least, with the likes of Bayern Munich having been credited with an interest over the last year as well.
But it was Roma and Nottingham Forest who showed the most interest in the summer transfer window. They both appeared ready to battle for his signature, but Feyenoord were not interested.
€30m should have been enough
Reports throughout the summer indicated that the duo were ready to pay €30m for his signature. That, though, was not enough for Feyenoord to consider selling one of their star men.
Perez cannot accept that stance. Indeed, he thinks it’s almost criminal that they would reject such a figure.
“Turning down €30m is truly criminal,” he said on ESPN’s Voetbalpraat.
“I see it differently for Hadj Moussa, but for a right-back, €30m is almost criminal.”
Was there an offer?
Whether either Roma or Nottingham Forest actually made such a bid is up for debate.
Feyenoord director of football Devy Rigaux recently insisted that he hadn’t received any such bid for the defender.
“I don’t know where that figure (€30m) came from,” he said.
“I’d rather not discuss specific amounts, but I can certainly say it wasn’t thirty million. Besides, it wouldn’t have meant we could have immediately reinvested those millions, so that doesn’t really make the difference.”
Fortunately for him, Read is not overly concerned. He recently made it clear that he was not pushing to leave Feyenoord at all this summer.
“I wasn’t actually disappointed. It could have gone either way,” he said.
“As I’ve said before, I didn’t have to leave Feyenoord; I wasn’t here on loan. I’m happy to be here. Of course, it was an opportunity, but whether I’d call it a missed opportunity… you know what I mean. Ultimately, I’m just happy to be here.”
Givairo Read
First-team club career stats
| Club | Apps | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| FC Volendam 2022–2023 |
1 | 0 | 0 |
| Feyenoord 2023–present |
63 | 5 | 14 |
| First-team total | 64 | 5 | 14 |
the Johan Cruyff Shield and European competitions.
Excludes Jong Volendam, academy football, UEFA Youth League,
internationals and friendlies.
Checked: 13 October 2026.
