Palmeiras president Cicero Souza has admitted that Gabriel Veron could be sacrificed to ease the club’s financial concerns, with Arsenal and Everton taking an interest in the Brazilian starlet, while speaking to Yahoo.
There appears to be something of a Samba revolution underway at Goodison Park and the Emirates.
Everton already have two Brazil internationals in their ranks and recent reports have suggested that Philippe Coutinho, Gabriel Magalhaes and now Veron could join Richarlison and Bernard on the blue half of Merseyside.
At Arsenal, meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli and David Luiz have both arrived since Edu Gaspar returned to north London to take on a technical director role. Edu also has close ties with super-agent Kia Joorabchian, a man who enjoys a huge influence in the South American market.
So with Yahoo claiming that two Premier League clubs were fluttering their eyelashes in Veron’s direction, it is no surprise to learn that Everton and Arsenal are the teams in question. Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees have reportedly failed with a £12 million bid.
Palmeiras were reported to be looking for around £25 million but, with almost every club on the globe hit hard by an unprecedented financial situation, Veron’s price-tag could be reduced, although there have been no official offers thus far.
“The financial losses are very great. Having the revenue from gate receipts fall to zero gives us a very big thump. We sought an agreement with the players for a 25% reduction (in wages) in the last two months with a postponement of payment on image rights,” Souza explains.
“One of the possibilities is to sell our players. (But) for Gabriel Veron, there is no official proposal on Palmeiras’s table.”
Veron, named after Argentine legend Juan Sebastian Veron, was awarded the Golden Ball after inspiring Brazil to glory at the U17 World Cup.
“He’s a kid with enormous talent,” Bebeto, a prolific forward who conquered the world alongside Romario, Cafu and Ronaldo in 1994, told Correio Brasiliense.
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