Andre Trindade has opened up on the ‘very difficult’ decision to turn down a £26 million move to Premier League giants Liverpool while remaining committed to Fluminense.
Whoever said loyalty is dead in modern football?
Liverpool made a £26 million bid for Andre Trindade over the summer, when Jurgen Klopp and co were in hot pursuit of numerous defensive midfield targets, but one of the rising talents of Brazilian football had already given his word to Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz.
Andre, he now tells Globo Esporte, had promised to stay put until the Brazilian season ends in December. And while hardly an easy decision, the 22-year-old deserves credit for putting ‘side before self’. A lesson in loyalty many a player could learn from.
Andre Trindade rejected Liverpool move
“Oh man, I think there are many factors. I think every player one day dreams of playing for a big club in Europe, in a big league. But I decided to keep my word because, when the January window closed, (coach Fernando) Diniz told me that he wanted me here until the end of the year,” Andre explains.
“We didn’t know that an offer of this value would arrive. I told him that, regardless of what happened, I would be there until the end of the season.
“It was a very difficult decision to make.”
Fluminense president Mario Bittencourt recently confirmed Liverpool’s interest in the one-time Fulham and Nottingham Forest target, who has been tipped to replace the ageing Casemiro in the Brazil national team.
The Liverpool Echo, meanwhile, believes the Anfield giants have scouted Andre for 18 months now, though only time will tell if he will be worth the wait.
‘I made the right choice’
“I think that, if I had accepted this offer, I don’t know if I would feel 100 per cent comfortable, because I had already agreed with coach Diniz (that I would stay),” Andre adds.
“He really values words, honesty. And he always tells me that, when we do the right things, good things always happen. So today, I am sure I made the right choice.”
Andre could leave Fluminense as a continental champion, the Brazilian outfit facing Argentina’s Boca Juniors in the Copa Libertadores final this week.
“We’re in the final now. I’m going to do everything, give my life to register this title,” the 22-year-old concludes. “At the end of the year I don’t know what will happen. Many things could happen.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
