Sporting hit €12m for João Palhinha, but deal collapsed unexpectedly | OneFootball

Sporting were willing to go up to €12 million to secure João Palhinha’s return to Alvalade. The Lions had set out an offer of €8 million fixed, plus another €4 million based on objectives, but the process ended up stalling and Sergi Altimira became the choice for midfield.

According to newspaper A Bola, Palhinha was Sporting’s priority at the start of June. Sporting informed Bayern Munich of their willingness to move forward with those figures and remained in contact with the player, although without the direct involvement of Rui Borges or Frederico Varandas.

The main obstacle arose because of Tottenham. The London club still had an option on Palhinha, and Bayern refused to meet with Sporting on two occasions, claiming that this possibility remained valid until mid-June. With no progress, Sporting’s SAD began to definitively speed up their move for Altimira.

On 27 June, Sporting informed Palhinha that they had opted for the Spanish midfielder, whose signing would be made official three days later. Coincidentally, it was also on 30 June that Tottenham informed Bayern and the Portugal international’s camp that they would not exercise the option.

With the Lions practically out of the race, July brought several interested clubs from the Premier League, and there was also interest from Manchester United, which did not become public at the time.

Benfica entered the scene during the second week of July and found the midfielder calm about the impossibility of returning to Sporting. The player’s desire to return to Portugal gained weight and the Eagles eventually reached an agreement with Bayern for €14 million fixed, plus €5 million in variables.

João Palhinha. Frederico Varandas would later justify the Lions’ decision through the relationship between the required investment and the midfielder’s age, while Altimira established himself as the chosen solution to fill the vacancy in the middle of the park.

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