One-time Brazilian wonderkid Lulinha missed out on a move to Tottenham Hotspur at the start of his career after Corinthians demanded a staggering £50 million, agent Wagner Ribeiro tells UOL.
You’d be lucky to get a Burnley centre-back for £50 million these days. A decade ago, however, such lofty sums were reserved for only the greatest talents in world football.
And when a Spurs side coached by Juande Ramos came calling in November 2007, expressing their interest in a player then labelled the ‘new Ronaldinho’, a potential move to North London soon hit the buffers.
“Lulinha was 16 years old. Tottenham came to me with an offer of £6 million. (Corinthians) said they would only sell for £50 million,” says Wagner Ribeiro, one of the most influential agents in South American football.
Some 14 years on, Lulinha is plying his trade in the Far East as he enters the autumn of his career.
“He’s in Japan. He’s only 30 years old. He made a lot of money,” Ribeiro adds.
A quick glance at Lulinha’s CV makes it quite clear that Ronaldinho’s heir apparent did quite not manage to live up to the lofty standards set by the two-time Ballon D’Or winner.
After spells at Ceara, Mogi Mirim, Pohang Steelers and Al-Sharjah, Lulinha is now pulling the strings at Jubilo Iwata.
It’s tempting to wonder how differently his career would have panned out had Corinthians accepted that £6 million bid all those years ago.
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