Perhaps Douglas Costa will be staying in Europe after all.
Speaking to Calciomercato in April, then-Gremio manager Renato Portaluppi claimed the £37 million Juventus speed-machine had shown an interest in rejoining the club he left more than a decade ago.
Portaluppi was at pains to point out, however, that signing a player who earns a staggering £165,000 a week at the Allianz Stadium would represent a sizeable stumbling block.
One that Gremio, despite their best efforts and following weeks of hopeful negotiations, have been unable to clear.
Clubs in Brazil have been hit hard by the financial implications of the covid pandemic.
And, according to president Romildo Bolzan, any lingering hope they had of luring Costa back to where it all began died a death when Gremio failed to qualify for the group stages of the prestigious Copa Libertadores a fortnight ago. A defeat in the final qualifying stage cost Portaluppi his job.
“If Gremio had passed (into the group stages), I could have done some more daring projects. When we did not pass, Gremio severely restricted its capacity and rejigged its entire transfer strategy,” Bolzan explains, via Goal.
“At the moment we have no negotiations with Douglas Costa. We don’t have the slightest expectation of acquiring a player of this size.”
With Costa set to return to Italy following an ill-fated loan spell at Bayern Munich, Calciomercato reported in March he could become the latest high-profile player to see his contract terminated at Juventus following Gonzalo Higuain, Blaise Matuidi and Sami Khedira.
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is a huge fan of the explosive attacker (CM), while Wolverhampton Wanderers are prepared to offer yet another Jorge Mendes client a home at Molineux.
And with a return to his Brazilian homeland off the cards for now, the chances of Costa strutting his stuff in England next season have just got a whole lot bigger.
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