Dani Alves according to reports have turn down reunion with former boss Pep Guardiola to agree deal with European giants.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have been busier than most any other club this early stage of the summer transfer window.
The Abu Dhabi United-backed club have already spent roughly £80 million on new signings this summer for the likes of Bernardo Silva and Ederson from AS Monaco and Benfica respectively.
The next believed to be on the cards is the second-most expensive goalkeepr of all-time behind Gianluigi Buffon, highlighting City’s interest to improve on their third-place finish in the Premier League last season.’
Guardiola has also wasted little time in sanctioning the dapartures of numerous stars to fund what’s sure to be another hugely expensive off-season.
Enes Unal, Aaron Mooy and Ruben Sobrino have left the Etihad for a combined £20 million, while Willy Caballero, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta all saw their contracts expire on July 1.
Despite being more than £55 million in the red so far this summer, the Citizens are unlikely to be out off spending big to land their remaining targets.
However, while the club is well placed to welcome at least a couple more big signings to the Etihad, the Spanish boss now has a problem that was largely unforeseen until only very recently.
Siging new full-backs was widely considered to be his top priority and amid talk of a reunion with Dani Alves gathering momentum in recent weeks.
Rumours of the Brazilian arrival on a free transfer from Juventus was making round to the point where it seemed the only thing left to do was unveil him in a sky blue shirt.
City fans could have been forgiven for merely expecting their side to announce the signing of the Brazilian any day now, but the latest update suggest the Spanish boss will have to restart his search from scratch.
According to French publication L’Equipe – via The Sun – suggest Alves has decided to snub the former Barcelona manager in favour of Paris Saint-Germain in a dramatic twist.
The former Bayern Munich manager will be furious having planned for the 32-year-old to fill the gap left by Zabaleta and Sagna and will likely be forced to pursue a far more costly alternative.
Losing Alves to the Ligue 1 giants obviously won’t derail the Premier League’s giant 2017-18 campaign, but it’s no doubt a painful blow for a manager determined to reshape his squad.
While he surely has other right-back options in mind, Guardiola and the City’s hierachy must be kicking themselves for not completing a deal sooner.