Dirty tricks: Varandas on Luis Suárez case, Sporting's stance | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas reacted strongly to Hakan Safi’s statements about Luis Suárez and guaranteed that the Colombian striker is not for sale for any amount below his release clause. The Sporting president also took the opportunity to criticize what he sees as external attempts to create instability at Alvalade.

He also trained his sights on Safi’s campaign director, whom he linked to Porto circles.

"I do not know the gentleman running for the Fenerbahçe presidency, but we know his campaign director very well. He lives in the city of Porto and we are used to the playbook he uses. He and his friends. Those dirty tactics do not work at Sporting. They bounce right off. They do not get into Sporting...", Varandas said.

The president of the green-and-whites also recalled an episode involving Morten Hjulmand in the last winter transfer window, suggesting that stories were planted to destabilize Sporting before a clássico against Porto.

"I remember it well, recently, on the last day of the winter transfer window, a story came out about an alleged offer from Atlético de Madrid for captain Morten Hjulmand. An offer that never existed, but we know where the story came from, who planted it and, coincidentally, a week before the Porto - Sporting match. Coincidences...", he fired back.

On a possible departure for Luis Suárez, Varandas was emphatic and sent a direct message to Hakan Safi, should he go on to win the Turkish club’s elections: "I can give a guarantee. If that gentleman happens to win the elections, Suárez’s price is 80 million euros, not one cent less. He does not even need to talk to us. He just has to make the payment", he assured.

The Sporting official also addressed the alleged understanding between the Turkish businessman and the player, arguing that the Colombian’s representatives ended up falling into a strategy whose real aim was not exactly to sign the striker.

"One of an agent’s duties is to protect his player and have the intelligence to realize he has fallen into a trap, where the objective is not a transfer to Fenerbahçe but to create a stir around Suárez. Which does not exist, because the player is a great professional and next year he will be wearing green and white", he assured.

In closing, Varandas made an optimistic prediction for next season for the 'number 97 shirt', who shone in 2025/26 for the Lions: "Suárez is a great professional. He scored 38 goals and next year he will score 40, I think. Forty", concluded the Sporting president.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.