New Palmeiras president Paulo Nobre has turned down the opportunity to sign Argentine midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, the club announced on Thursday.
According to the president, the expense of bringing the Argentine icon to Palmeiras would have been too expensive for the club, while also casting doubt on the star’s current condition.
“We spoke to the coach,” Nobre told reporters. “No one doubts that he is a great player, but we are in the process of professionalisation and the club are facing financial problems.
“Palmeiras cannot afford to bring in a player of his price. We did no physical assessment and we never spoke with the player. Thus, it all stopped at the first stage.”
Former club president Arnaldo Tirone had agreed a deal to bring the player to São Paulo after a meeting in Argentina last week. However, the new board have chosen not to take the player up on the three-year deal that had been agreed.
Source: Lancenet
