São Paulo appear to have pulled out of the race to sign AC Milan star Robinho after admitting their interest in Napoli’s Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas.
Robinho, 28, has admitted that he wants to leave Milan in January and return to play in Brazil and AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani is in Brazil to try and broker a deal with clubs for the former Real Madrid striker, as well as tie up Alexandre Pato’s transfer to Corinthians.
However, São Paulo’s vice president of football João Paulo de Jesus Lopes told ESPN Radio Estadão that they are no longer after the AC Milan player.
He said: “We have no interest in signing him. At one point there was an initial interest to understand how the business was, but internally we are convinced that, for a number of reasons, the athlete is not what we were looking.”
Vargas, 23, impressed with Universidad de Chile when winning the Copa Sul-Americana in 2011 and his form earned him a move to Napoli. But he has failed to adapt to the demands of Italian football and is looking for a way out to resurrect his career.
The move is likely to be a loan agreement to start with, as Napoli are asking for €15 million to sign the player on a permanent deal. However, São Paulo face competition from Grêmio to sign the striker.
