Damiao has had a phenomenal year in front of goal for both Inter, and recently scored his first for Brazil. He is attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world. Tottenham Hotspur made a bid during the summer, but it was rejected.
Now, however, Luigi is coming to terms with the fact that Damiao may want to test himself at a higher level in the future with a big money move to Europe, and says that it would take a lot to keep hold of him.
“I want to work on the idea of keeping Damiao after January (when the European transfer window is next open), but we need to involve the entire club,” Luigi is quoted as saying by Esporte.
One proposal that has been put forward is expanding the club’s membership base from 100,000 to 200,000 in order to bring in more revenue, but Luigi is unsure as to whether that would be enough.
“I cannot imagine that he will remain forever, even with 200,000 members, as the athletes themselves have a need to play in Europe. But Inter are capable of training replacements, as we did when Nilmar and Rafael Sobis left.”
Should Damiao leave, the Inter president is hopeful of receiving more than the €12 million offered by Tottenham, but knows that it is unlikely any club will meet Damiao’s release clause of €50 million.
“Historically, we know that the fees received by South American sides from European clubs are not as high,” stated Luigi. “The European clubs buy them for less, then sell them on for more after only two or three years there.”
