Corinthians midfielder Paulinho has rejected a proposal to move to Italian giants Inter Milan on Tuesday afternoon, according to director of football Roberto de Andrade.
Paulinho, 24, is thought to have become Inter’s major target for the January transfer window once the sale of Coutinho to Liverpool was authorised. However, the player himself has chosen not to take up the offer of a move.
“We were approached today by a representative of Inter,” Andrade told a press conference. “We sat and talked. They came with a proposal for Paulinho, but we decided together that Paulinho will not leave Corinthians now.
“It’s a negotiation that started today and finished today. As we have been saying, he will stay until at least the end of the Libertadores. Next window, if any offer arrives, we will discuss it once more. He was against a move. We respect that and we are happy with the decision, so the negotiation was ended.”
It is speculated that Inter had offered a fee in the region of €17.5 million for the player, but Corinthians have, for now, chosen to retain their star midfielder as the 2013 Copa Libertadores approaches.
Source: Lancenet
