New Al Ahli Club midfielder Everton Ribeiro claims he had “offers from Monaco, AC Milan and Manchester United.”
The 25 year-old left Cruzeiro to join the United Arab Emirates based outfit in January for a reported fee of around €9 million.
Given his standing in Brazil – he has been voted the best player in the last two Brasileirão seasons – Ribeiro’s move could be considered underwhelming. The Arujá native insists however, that Al Ahli’s project convinced him to reject strong interest from Europe.
“Cruzeiro did not want me to leave, and at the same time I had offers from Monaco, AC Milan and Manchester United,” he said, as reported by Gulf News and Sports Witness. “But it was the project of Al Ahli trying to be the best club in Asia and this appealed to me.
‘The core of the Al Ahli project is to be a winner in Asia, and I want to be in a champion club that is having a champion project. I am committed to being part of this big plan of Al Ahli being the biggest club in Asia.”
Ribeiro started out with Corinthians, before moving on to Coritiba in February 2011. He was then signed by Cruzeiro for a reported fee of €1.5 million in January 2013 and went on to score 13 goals in 76 appearances for the club.
At Al Ahli, his manager is Cosmin Olăroiu and he joins fellow Brazilians Ciel and Grafite.
