SPORTING PRESIDENT Frederico Varandas has revealed the details of Tottenham’s failed bid to sign Bruno Fernandes in the summer transfer window, with Spurs having tabled an offer with bonus payments for winning the Premier League and Champions League.
Fernandes had been linked with a multitude of clubs in the off-season, including Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United among others, but the 24-year-old ultimately ended up staying put at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
And Varandas, in an official statement released on the club’s website, went into detail about the Lions’ summer business and how the books were balanced while also strengthening the team.
“Offloading players who took up 25 per cent of our budget was extremely important,” the president wrote. “We lost only one undisputed starter and kept what is, for me, the best midfielder in Europe.
It wasn’t easy because they were being paid far above market value and it’s a complicated process. Whoever is at the helm of Sporting has to be strict and responsible and should never add to expenses without first ‘cleaning house’.
“We have managed to hold on to our highest-value player, Bruno Fernandes, and have been able to provide balance and better solutions. We think this group is more competitive and has more quality than last season.
“It was ‘impossible’ to retain Bruno Fernandes, but we did it. We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on him, and we had bids, but the only serious offer was from Tottenham and that was €45 million (£40m/$50m) plus another €20m (£18m/$22m) in bonuses for winning the Premier League and the Champions League.
“Those are difficult objectives, so we chose not to accept.
“Bruno Fernandes proved to be not only a great player but a great professional and captain. The dignity and responsibility that he has always shown is exemplary.
The day I turned down Tottenham’s proposal, I came to the training ground and spoke to him. I told him why I declined the offer and why he would stay here beyond the end of the market and he understood perfectly.
“In addition, he also understood that the bid they offered us was not fair. He’s not leaving, he’s a Sporting player. Many European clubs want him and we know this is something we will always have to deal with.”
Another player whose name was mentioned several times across the summer was winger Raphinha, who eventually moved to Rennes in Ligue 1, but Varandas was always confident that he would hang onto one of the two sought-after stars.
Were we going to sell Raphinha early in the market knowing that Real Madrid, Juventus or Atletico Madrid could give us €70m for Bruno Fernandes? Were we in danger of losing both? No, because we could not say no to a proposal of €70m,” he said.
“We held on until last Wednesday and in Monaco, during the Europa League draw, we realised he was not going to be sold. So we retained Bruno Fernandes and moved on to another plan, which was to sell Raphinha and lose only one starter for €21m.”
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I love reading stories like this. For all the fantastic players that have come through the schools system, the majority started off life in the club system. It’s a testament to the players, coaches, parents, committees who put in the hard work in keeping these clubs going
Great story. There are large areas of the country that are open to this type of development.
@kieran horgan: Completely agree. When youngsters playing in less traditional areas see those a few years ahead of them feature in provincial and national squads, it will hopefully boost rugby in those areas. Look at Munster and West Cork, in the last number of years alone there’s been the 2 Coombes, 2 Wycherleys, Crowley, Hodnett, Hurley. Plenty of untapped areas to be explored
@Niall Boyle: Farmer strength is a term often used. You know what it means when you’ve played against it be it in Gaelic or Rugby. It would be fertile ground for rugby players if the seeds are planted particularly forwards. It’s also part of what makes NZ rugby
@Michael Corkery: farmer strength is something that applies only in the amatuer arena. Kids from farming backgrounds in NZ( also SA and Aus) who are decent at rugby with a view to the Pro’s, generally head off to boarding school for secondary, unless they’re commutable distance to bigger towns/cities. They develop physically using modern development practices, not shifting bales by hand…
@Sea Point: True, the bales of hay and tractor tyres have been replaced by dumb bells and Creatine.
@Sea Point: rubbish, certain people have natural strength which has been acquired during generations and their youth as they needed to have it for their livelihood. Of course, that alone is a base strength that is built on when they get into a more professional setup be it a private school or academy.
@Niall Boyle: and Mike Ross before them
Great to see, jj returning and possibly 2 good lads getting into the academy will be great for munster and the kingdom.
@Treaty Jim: would love to see Jack Daly get a run without injury disruption also
@Niall Boyle: totally agree.
@Niall Boyle: Doesn’t look great for Jack, ‘last chance saloon’ maybe.
The Blackrock catchment area is pretty large…
Kudos to their scouts, but I thought that there was a Leinster School’s rule about how long a player had to be in a school before playing for their SCT?
@Phil O’ Meara: Kerry is part of cork too. These powerful schools always find a way around these “rules”
@Phil O’ Meara: Would be interesting to know what discussions took place that resulted in O’Sullivan ending up at Blackrock, rather than another Leinster school or a Cork or Limerick school. However I think the rule to which you refer (and stopped Dylan McNeice playing for St Michael’s this year) is to stop Leinster schools poaching from each other. The previous school can give permission for their former pupil to play for his new one. Doesn’t apply in this case where it seems that everyone’s a winner
@Kevin Ryan: Everyone bar Terenure!
Jaysus Whitehouse is a painful ref