Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho has denied he is on the verge of a move to the English Premier League and says he is only thinking of breaking into the Brazil national team ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Fernandinho, 27, who joined the Ukraine giants in 2005 from Atlético Paranaense, was recently reported to have said that he would be moving to Manchester this January but the midfielder has revealed that this story was untrue and Shakhtar also denied the story.
“I said nothing. By the way it came out, it becomes very clear that no player would do such a thing,” he told Globo Esporte.
“I remained quiet. Many people asked me, but nothing more than speculation created. I have a contract until 2016 with Shakhtar and I see my future there because it is a club that opened the door for me to play in Europe.
“Cannot say I’m never going to leave Shakhtar. If you get an offer and is good for me and the club, I’ll sit down and talk with the manager and we will try to reach an agreement so I can try to extend my career in Europe.”
The player’s priority for 2013 is to get back into the Brazil national team and add to the five caps he has so far.
“The goal remains, which is to play the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. I think with the exchange of coahc, many players who were forgotten by the last coach (Mano Menezes) have renewed hopes and desire to return to the selection.
“I’m looking forward to the next one, I hope my name will be on the list.”
And the player also stated how proud he is to have succeeded in the Ukraine after being criticised for choosing the Eastern European country when he left Brazil.
“I feel accomplished because when I left Brazil to go to Ukraine 95% of people criticized me because it was a country hidden. But the problem is that people only see today and not look for tomorrow.
“Everyone likes to talk about what happens today and nobody plans. The work that was done in order to reach Shakhtar was on the porch where we are today. It was risky in 2005, but it was worth it and I do not regret anything I did.”
