Former Italian striker Éder has lifted the lid on the moment he nearly joined Leicester City but then ended up at Inter Milan instead.
Gianluca di Marzio report comments from the 39-year-old today following an appearance on Sky’s Calcio Unplugged programme.
Fresh off a sensational spell at Sampdoria, where he pushed Gonzalo Higuain in the race for the top goalscorer in Serie A, Éder revealed he was on the brink of joining Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City.
“I could have gone to Leicester with Coach Ranieri, it was almost all done… I left Genoa to go to Milan and almost signed for Leicester.”
The deal was so far advanced, in fact, the striker had already begun preparing for life in England. But then came the twist.
Mancini’s call that changed his career
Just as Leicester City were closing in, Inter Milan made their move. And the effort came right from the top at the Italian club.
“Then I received a call from Coach Mancini and also from Ausilio for Inter,” he added.
He insists that the decision wasn’t just about club prestige. It was about timing, visibility and one huge goal: making Italy’s squad for Euro 2016.
“It was also a decision based on the idea of going to the European Championship with the national team… I was a little worried about going to England and not playing,” he concluded.
No regrets over rejecting Leicester
The decision proved to be the right one for Éder too, even if he missed out on winning the Premier League that year.
He secured his place in Italy’s squad for Euro 2016 and scored one of their most memorable goals at that tournament to secure a win over Sweden and a place in the last 16.
He has, though, admitted that he regrets the decision, having found himself out of the picture at Inter between January and the end of the season. Now he’s left to wonder what might have been, under Claudio Rainieri and his Leicester legends.
