Varandas on Palhinha, with a dig at Benfica: “Not our project” | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas admitted this Sunday that Sporting spoke with João Palhinha about a possible return to Alvalade, but the idea of the Portugal international, who is now close to reaching an agreement with Benfica, was different and the Lions could not afford to wait.

"Sporting were interested in Palhinha's return, but at that moment, in late June, he gave priority to Tottenham because he wanted to stay at the club. Which is legitimate. Tottenham did not accept the financial terms, and Sporting could not wait for Palhinha - whether it was Palhinha or any other player," he said after the men's handball Super Cup final between the Eagles and the Lions.

The official then looked at the current situation, with Benfica still trying to reach an agreement with Bayern Munich, who hold the midfielder's registration, as well as the terms under which the deal is expected to be done. "Today, Palhinha is still a Bayern player, which for us was impossible. But I will also say this: if at the end of June the conditions demanded from Sporting had been those being talked about, we would not have moved for him", he revealed.

Varandas then said he would not make a major investment in a 31-year-old player. "I'm not saying the decision is right or wrong, it's simply not our sporting project. It is not our strategy to invest all those tens of millions of euros in a 31-year-old player. It's neither right nor wrong, it's simply not our project", he concluded.

It is worth remembering that Benfica will pay around €14 million to Bayern Munich, plus another €5 million in add-ons, in a deal that could reach €19 million for João Palhinha. The defensive midfielder will also receive a €1 million signing bonus.

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