In a stunning revelation, Brazilian agent Andre Cury has confirmed Paris Saint-Germain repeatedly asked him to broker a deal for Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid as part of potential deal involving Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Speaking to Spanish outlet daily AS. Cury claimed negotiations between the two European giants including the suggestion of an incredible player swap.
“They tried to sign Mbappe and Neymar, and they used Vinicius as a bargaining chip at the time. Vini wasn’t playing as much yet, but he was highly valued, because he was a winger with a bright future,” he said.
“I know this because Leonardo told us, he really liked Vinicius. When Madrid went after first Neymar and then Mbappe, PSG always asked for Vinicius as a substitute.”
Cury claimed these negotiations happened in Leonardo’s second term from 2019-2020 as PSG sporting director.
PSG had already smashed the transfer records by signing Neymar from Barcelona for €222m [$252m] in 2017 and then signing Mbappe from AS Monaco for €180m [$205m] just after.
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At the same time, Real Madrid secured the signature of Vinicius from Flamengo in 2017, for around €46m ]$52m] – reportedly making him the second-most expensive transfer from the Brazilian league.
That deal became active in July 2018, when Vinicius turned 18, and according to Cury, PSG never wanted to give up on their previous stars for him.
“PSG didn’t want to give up either Neymar or Mbappe. ‘I won’t give you this one if you don’t give me the other one.’ They were very clever.”
PSG tried their luck with another Brazilian prodigy
PSG’s pursuit of Brazilian talent has extended beyond their interest in Vini Jr, with the French giants recently targeting Palmeiras wonderkid Estevão Willian prior to his move to Chelsea.
Cury was at the centre of that deal and confirmed PSG tried to derail Chelsea’s interest.
“Estevão is the most expensive sale in all of America. First Estevão, then Vitor Roque and finally Neymar. I was lucky enough to do all three.”
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