The
Atlético de Madrid
announced last Monday the hiring of Mark Paulo for the next five seasons. A signing that was an open secret because the rojiblanco team signed a pre-contract with the player months ago, when he could already negotiate because his contract ended on June 30.
The truth is that the sports management of the Atlético de Madrid He was ready and precise to get ahead of a good number of European teams that were behind the player, one of the last jewels of the quarry of Xérem, next to Joao Pedro, now player of the Watford, headed the ‘Generation of Gold’From the club's quarry.
That the footballer was the great hope of Fluminense to give an economic pitch seeing the progression of the player, it was seen since he was just a teenager, as he progressed in the tricolor quarry. At the age of 17, a rescission clause of no less than 45 million was placed on him.
Hence the Athletic you can proudly say that you have closed a master trade, with zero risk and great potential profit. If the player does not end up being that star that in Brazil expected, you will not have invested much. If it turns out, it will be an operation that will be remembered for years to come. Arriving free and ending up a star is not something that happens so often.
The fact is that during these years, the harassment of the footballer was constant. Half Europe asked for him, many teams turned to the direction of Fluminense, all with the same answer. The Torino and the Parma They were two of the first teams that pressed for him, holding conversations with the ‘Flu’ leadership. The Turinese wanted a loan with a purchase option, the Parma It offered almost half a million euros for 15% of its rights, a proposal that was also overthrown.
They were not the only ones clear. The Juventus He also had him on the radar, made inquiries about the possibility of signing him, but those 45 million euros of that clause prevented his departure. On France, clubs like him Olympique de Marseille and the Olympique de Lyon they also tried.
The most serious offer for the player came from CSKA of Moscow, which put seven million euros on the table. The fact is that the leadership of Fluminense he saw in the footballer the player who could star in the biggest transfer in the history of the club and he did not settle for little … to end up keeping nothing.
THE BARÇA TALKED WITH HIS FAMILY
The situation of the player's contract was not simple because not 100% of the rights belonged to Fluminense. On Spain, emissaries of the FC Barcelona they came to travel to Brazil and they interviewed the player's family. But there was no agreement. The idea of the Catalan club was that it was for the subsidiary, to which was also added the prohibitive clause of termination of the player.
By not bearing fruit in the conversations to renew the attacker, who looked in Brazil, the picture cleared for him Athletic. In December 2020, a year and a half before the contract with his then club expired.
“I was in the Fluminense and there were several clubs interested in my work and my contract was about to expire. There was a game against him Athletic
Paranaense and my agent told me there were chances that the Athletics come and talk to us ”, the player acknowledged recently. That game was key for him. “The game went very well for me, I scored two goals and we had a conversation and I was very happy.”
That exhibition was key for the Athletic He spoke with the agents and the family, so that they would cover the player, show him a love and interest that he had not seen in other previous proposals. Obviously, the project that was presented to him also weighed, the role of Simeone as one of the best coaches in the world and role that was going to be awarded to him in the rojiblanco team. Mattress interest and attention to detail were key in his choice.
He was convinced that it had to be Spain your destiny. His dream as a child was always to emulate Ronaldinho in the Barcelona and when the option of Athletic he didn't think about it. And that it cost him to confront his lifelong club, which was enraged when he confirmed that the player was not going to renew and that he had signed a pre-contract with the colchoneros. A circumstance that made him train with the lower categories for almost a year. His last game was in January 2021, in the midst of a crisis with his club.