Santos director admits Gabigol could still leave, with Juve and Chelsea looming

Santos president Modesto Roma has admitted that 19 year old forward Gabriel Barbosa could still leave Santos before the end of the European transfer window. The club had announced an agreement on an extension to Gabigol’s contract last week, with clubs such as Fiorentina, Arsenal and Juventus linked. However, the announcement seems to have been […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-07-16 18:33:00

Santos president Modesto Roma has admitted that 19 year old forward Gabriel Barbosa could still leave Santos before the end of the European transfer window. The club had announced an agreement on an extension to Gabigol’s contract last week, with clubs such as Fiorentina, Arsenal and Juventus linked.

However, the announcement seems to have been premature, with president Modesto forced to admit that the new deal is still far from agreed with suitors looming, “This week, I received an email from Gabriel’s attorney, saying they wanted to change some things in the draft contract that Santos offered. The contract we began discussing a month ago, with the possibility of renewing until 2021,” added the official.

Reports now suggest that interest from Chelsea and Juventus has caused Gabriel to rethink. Gabigol’s ownership structure is complex, Santos owns 40% of the player, investment company Doyen Sports has a 20% stake, while the player himself owns the other 40% of his economic rights.

Reports suggest that Juventus have bid 40% of his value- about €18m- and are prepared to negotiate with Doyen and the player separately to determine the remaining 60% of the fee. Chelsea meanwhile, are supposed to have made a straight up €30m bid for all of his rights.

However, Modesto suggests that Juve have yet to make their proposal official, “If you have a proposal, show it. Everyone can say they have one. But I want to see the proposal. The story is that Juventus want to take the player, but they have yet to show us the proposal.”