Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Júlio César believes he is close to joining Brazilian club Grêmio.
He told Globo Esporte that negotiations were advanced and went on to praise the Porto Alegre club before insisting nothing had been signed yet.
The quotes were picked up by Sky Sports News but they also revealed that Grêmio officials strongly denied the Brazil number one was close to joining them.
Firstly though, César said: “The negotiations are very advanced and are well underway, but I have not signed anything yet.
“I am happy with Grêmio’s interest. It is a great club and playing in the Copa Libertadores makes it even more interesting to finalise the negotiations.
“I was given interesting information about the city of Porto Alegre. It is a great city to live in and I am thankful for their interest.”
However, Grêmio executive director Rui Costa quickly rejected these claims when he spoke to Radio Gaucha.
Costa said: “There is no chance that Grêmio will sign Júlio César. Our first-team goalkeeper is Marcelo Grohe.”
Grêmio club director Marcos Chitolina wasn’t as strong as Costa but told Zero Hora that they aren’t negotiating with QPR over the goalkeeper’s signature.
“Grêmio are not involved in any kind of negotiations with Júlio César,” said Chitolina.
