Wallace thriving at Grêmio, but he nearly joined Inter before | OneFootball

Wallace is thriving at Grêmio, yet he could have lined up for Internacional in the Gre-Nal quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil. According to Globo.com, Inter advanced with CRB for the defender before Grêmio moved in and completed the transfer.

Red Bull Bragantino made the first bid, drawing a counter from CRB president Mário Marroquim. Inter then spoke with agent Wesley Moura and aligned verbal terms, but the deal stalled at formalisation.

As Brazilian club officials travelled to the United States around Brazil's World Cup opener, Inter president Alessandro Barcellos met Marroquim. Grêmio learned of Wallace's potential exit, executive Paulo Pelaipe called the agent, and head scout Carlos Silva led a week of talks during World Cup matches.

Moura was surprised and praised Grêmio's project. Pelaipe also signalled that centre-back Viery would be sold to Fiorentina, with Wallace earmarked to fill the gap. News of Viery's departure emerged on 25 June, while Wallace's move leaked on 23 June.

Cruzeiro and Botafogo made late approaches, but the agreement with Grêmio was already advanced. The Tricolor accelerated the process, paying before CRB had signed the sale and before registration in the CBF BID.

Wallace mentioned the Inter possibility at his unveiling. The transfer became CRB's record academy sale and yielded staff bonuses. The 21-year-old has since become a starter and defensive pillar, debuting in last week's 0-0 first leg at Beira-Rio.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”