Sao Paulo’s sports co-ordinator Muricy Ramalho has confirmed that Premier League giants Arsenal are set to sign teenage forward Marquinhos for a bargain fee of £2.5 million, speaking on Jorge Nicola’s YouTube channel.
There’s been plenty of words used to describe Marquinhos’ price-tag, and not many of them complementary. Some called it a ‘scandal’. Others said it was ‘absurd’.
And, yes, when you compare the £2.5 million fee Arsenal are spending on Sao Paulo’s 19-year-old whizzkid to the giant sums of money invested in the likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes, Gabriel Jesus and co, it certainly feels that the Tricolor are not exactly coming out of this transfer saga smelling of roses.
But it could be worse.
Marquinhos recently signed a five-year professional contract at the Morumbi. But, according to Lance, such a deal breaches FIFA regulations.
Due to Marquinhos’ age – he won’t turn 20 for another 11 months – the maximum length of contract Sao Paulo were legally able to offer him was just three years.
Marquinhos is swapping Sao Paulo for Arsenal
“The big problem was the contract length, which was for five years and valid only in Brazil, unfortunately,” admits Muricy. “They didn’t realise it at the time when they signed the contract.
“We even managed to reverse the Marquinhos case. (Marquinhos) was supposed to be (available for) free. That’s the truth. We still got 3 million euros from Arsenal.
“If he went to FIFA (and appealed), we wouldn’t be entitled to anything.
“That was the contract made back then and we are suffering from it. We’ve been trying to renew (his deal) for a year now, and it’s all documented.”
A costly error. Quite literally, in this case.
Marquinhos will become Arsenal’s first signing of the summer transfer window and he’s unlikely to be the last either. The Gunners are still hoping to strike a deal with Premier League rivals Manchester City for another Brazilian attacker – Gabriel Jesus.
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“(Marquinhos) didn’t want to stay. We tried everything,’ sighed Sao Paulo president Julio Casares this week, speaking to Grande Circulo on Globo Esporte.
Bologna’s Aaron Hickey is another target for Mikel Arteta and co, while Matt Turner is arriving from New England Revolution. Lucas Torreira, Pablo Mari, Bernd Leno and Mohamed Elneny could all depart.
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