AC Milan have given up on trying to sign André from Brazilian side Corinthians after a long and ridiculous soap opera.
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As Tuttosport (via MilanNews) report this morning, Milan have fully walked away from their attempts to try and sign André from Corinthians. The Brazilian club – after some of its directors had signed documents for the transfer of the midfielder for a total of €17m – did a U-turn several times.
After the president did not sign off on the sale, they then raised the asking price, so Milan decided not to continue with the discussions. Benfica and Atletico Madrid are now interested in the Brazilian midfielder and could bring him to Europe.
A ridiculous saga
There is more background. After several days of negotiations, the Rossoneri believed they had finalised all the details of the purchase, which could have reached a total value of €17m for 70% of the player’s rights, broken down into €15m fixed plus €2m in bonuses.
From there, things took an unexpected turn. The Brazilian club’s president, Osmar Stabile, did not give the final green light, despite Corinthians’ legal department having already produced documents certifying a preliminary agreement.
Further complicating matters were the statements of coach Dorival Júnior, who publicly expressed his opposition to the sale during the season, emphasising that a player of André’s caliber deserves an even higher fee.
Negotiations thus stalled, with the Brazilians convinced they had a highly talented player on their hands that they could get more money for. At this point, Milan decided they were not going to raise their bid.