Pranav Nair
Wagner Ribeiro reveals why Manchester United missed out on signing Lucas Moura
Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was left in awe of Lucas Moura following the Brazilian’s stunning display at the 2012 Olympics.
The Samba stars made it all the way to the final but eventually had to settle for a silver medal. Moura, however, left the competition with his reputation enhanced.
United’s interest saw them go as far as to agree on a provisional fee with Sao Paulo for the player. However, the deal fell through when Paris Saint-Germain got wind of the situation.
This was revealed by Wagner Ribeiro in a chat with UOL (h/t Manchester Evening News). The football agent went on to explain just how close Moura came to being a Red Devil.
“Everything was fine with Manchester United. The Brazilian was going to play in Manchester.”
Leonardo, the PSG sporting director was the one who swung the deal in the French giants’ favour. He called up Ribeiro to enquire about the player and promptly outbid United to land him.
“He asked how much United would pay (for Lucas). I said it would be €36 million (£31 million). He said he would pay €45 million (£39 million).”
From under our noses!
Ribeiro then did his part to convince Moura that Paris was a great city. The player’s father was also consulted before Sao Paulo wee given the go-ahead.
“I told Lucas that Paris was a beautiful city to live in. He asked to speak to his father. We got everything right and I told Gustavo (Oliveira, Sao Paulo’s director) to fly to Paris.”
Alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, Moura became a part of the PSG team that took Ligue 1 by storm. He ended up staying for five years in Paris before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2018.
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Moura has shown glimpses of his undoubted talent and even scored key goals. His hat-trick against Ajax Amsterdam in 2019 was just another example of the player’s clinical ability to find the goal.
However, one can argue that he has failed to reach his full potential. Whether that may have been the case had he moved to United instead is debatable.
