Club president claims Liverpool are stalling the proposed sale of Allan Rodrigues

Add as preferred source on Google

The president of Fluminense Mario Bittencourt has suggested Liverpool are playing hardball over the sale of midfielder Allan Rodrigues.

The Brazilian will soon depart the club with his contract expiring, but it remains unclear at this point where he might end up.

One of the frontrunners are Fluminense, which is where Allan spent 2019 on loan.

They want Allan after being impressed with his contributions, but it would seem Liverpool are not making it easy for them.

Speaking in a press conference, Bittencourt said (Globo Esporte): “Liverpool said yes to us that they were interested in selling. I made a bid for 50%, then they replied that they were only interested in selling 90%.

“I made a bid for 90%, and Liverpool said they could split into 24 instalments. I made the proposal, but they said a club arrived to pay cash.

“I increased the amount, matched with those who would pay in cash, still in 20 instalments. They replied ‘no because we have it in cash’. I made a new proposal increasing the amount. Since I’m increasing the overall amount I want to keep the instalments.

“I still have no answer.”

It is likely the unnamed club mentioned by Bittencourt is Atletico Mineiro, who have also been linked recently.

TBR’s view – Tough negotiator Edwards

One has to admire the desire of Reds technical director Michael Edwards to get a good deal for the club.

It would surely be very easy for him to just let Allan leave quietly out the back door and on the cheap.

After all, he arrived for just £500,000 in 2015 (Liverpool Echo), and has never played a game for the first-team thanks largely to work permit issues.

It seems as though Edwards is trying to play two teams off of one another in the hoping of getting as much as possible for the South American, which underlines his tireless nature.