Nuno Mendes has delivered a transfer blow to Liverpool and Manchester City by insisting he’s staying put at Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon, speaking to TVI24.
Maybe it was the champagne talking?
Following a 1-0 victory over Boavista last night, Sporting Lisbon brought the curtain down on two decades of hurt, securing their first Primeira Liga title in 19 years.
And an 18-year-old left-back has been one of the key cogs in Ruben Amorim’s winning machine, with Mendes establishing himself as one of the finest young talents in European football during the past ten months or so.
Long before his 19th birthday, Mendes is a three-time Portugal international and should seal a place in Fernando Santos’s 26-man squad for the upcoming European Championship.
And, by the time the tournament comes to an end, will the ferreting full-back be a Premier League player?
In March, Calciomercato reported Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool wanted Mendes to provide competition for Andy Robertson at Anfield, although Manchester City were leading the chase for a player who has already won over an expectant Etihad fanbase.
But, in a major boost to Sporting’s hopes of retaining their crown, Mendes has decided to commit his future to the Estadio Jose Alvalade club.
“Right now I’m at Sporting and I’m staying at Sporting. I don’t think about anything else,” says Mendes.
“We are all living a dream. Sporting hadn’t won the championship for 19 years. I was born in 2002 (the year of the club’s last league title) and it is very important to me.”
Mendes, who has a £40 million release clause in his contract, has also been linked with Leicester City and Newcastle United since the start of the season.
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