Eliseu Trinidade, the father of Sporting midfielder Elias, insists his son will not be joining Shandong Luneng Taishan.
Trinidade admits the Chinese Super League side, who are coached by former Atlético Mineiro manager Cuca, made a tempting offer, but for the moment it has been declined.
“I was in Portugal for 22 days trying to negotiate with Sporting Lisbon"s directors and we didn"t come to an agreement," he said, as reported by China.org.
“Yesterday we discussed a proposal from the Chinese club [Shandong Luneng Taishan] which was a very good financial offer. But we declined it. Elias is prepared to give up a lot to come to an agreement with Sporting. I am confident we can reach a deal but for now we"ve done all we can."
Elias, who joined Sporting from Atlético Madrid for €8.85 million in August 2011, spent last season on loan at Flamengo. The Rio de Janeiro-based club remain keen on signing him permanently and are believed to have offered €6 million for his services.
