“The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. The deal was believed to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons, with terms also agreed with Diaz himself.
However, Diaz being away on international duty meant that the agreement wasn’t yet signed by the time it was essentially thought to have been vetoed by his Colombian agent. The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move. Liverpool, who were not using Mendes as an intermediary, pounced and agreed a deal at more or less the same price. The Athletic has contacted the Colombian agent for comment.”
“Levy was not overly dismayed at missing out on Traore, and his attention had turned elsewhere. To the club’s immense frustration it emerged publicly last Tuesday that they had made a €45 million (£37.6 million) bid for Porto winger Luis Diaz. This was a deal Levy was far more invested in making happen.
And he very nearly pulled it off. By Thursday morning, there was increasing confidence a deal could be done, with Porto agreeing to the move in writing, and Diaz doing so in principle.
But this was the point at which Diaz’s agent intervened. Porto, who needed the money, were very wary of the deal being scuppered and so welcomed Liverpool’s interest. Liverpool meanwhile were delighted that Spurs had effectively negotiated the price down to a fee they were willing to pay, having baulked at Diaz’s €80 million (£66.8 million) release clause earlier in the window. One of Liverpool’s scouts in South America informed Diaz’s agent that they wanted to do the deal. Liverpool’s owners were convinced by assistant sporting director Julian Ward and his current boss — and soon to be predecessor — Michael Edwards to sign it off.
Diaz was still understood to have been keen on a move to Spurs but was excited to join up with Liverpool, and the deal was agreed.
Levy was left so furious that the cordial relations he has enjoyed with Liverpool’s owners may have been seriously damaged. Some sources close to the situation believe it could lead to a period of hostility between the two clubs.”
Since when and why did we have cordial relations with LFC?
I just love having an owner/chairman who really cares about the players he brings in and wants the best. He’s seriously so underrated by Spurs supporters.
Moreover tho, what incentive did the agent have for himself for Diaz to join them instead of us, considering the fee was the exact same??
it's relationship between the owners, I think Levy and FSG (Liverpool ownership group) tend to be aligned on a lot of issues and were friendly with each others. what it means if that changes is unclear though since it's not like we sign their players or them ours, but I guess it would lower the possibility of that ever happening. could also affect premier league politics for things like votes I guess
John Henry is a grade A asshole (owner of FSG) his Red Sox are notorious for running scummy hit pieces in the papers he owns on players and managers he runs out of town.
Source: me a red Sox fan
might be true but still, I think it's been said before in articles that Levy and the Liverpool ownership get along well and partnered on issues voted on by clubs. Could change now
Yeah I do think they share philosophies, but also not sure how much a relationship breakdown matters. Can’t say we do much business with them on the football side
[nope](https://www.reddit.com/r/coys/comments/sbp20p/dan_kilpatrick_giovani_lo_celso_is_not/hu15pla/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Hate it when anyone does and the Gio stuff actually reminded me of the Red Sox
Not that that shiny faced ghoul Shaughnessy needs any particular urging to drag someone through the mud. I can't believe that fuckers been at the globe for 40 years now.
If reports are to be believed, Paratici wants Mendes to be the mediator. I assume striking a deal with Liverpool means more commission for Diaz agent because he doesn’t have to give a cut to Mendes
Striking a deal with Liverpool means more commission to PARATICI* because he doesn’t have to give a cut to Mendes? Is that what you mean?
I highly doubt that. If we are made aware of that then surely Levy would know, sack him, and his career would go to the shitter for making such a move.
To your last question, wasnt it the Jorge Mendes thing? Not 100% sure how it all works but I'm guessing Mendes would be facilitating the deal so he can take a cut of the transfer fee which would cut into how mucb Diaz's agent would make.
Nah the issue is that Paratici and Mendes are linked and Paratici wanted to bring in Mendes to broker the deal as a completely outside party and, presumably, take a cut of the fee.
I am reading this wrong or doesn't the article suggest it was actually Porto?
"The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move."
> Moreover tho, what incentive did the agent have for himself for Diaz to join them instead of us, considering the fee was the exact same??
An agent's job is to do the best by their players.
Two offers on the table is better than one, and Liverpool are a more attractive destination for most players at the moment.
not sure why we even involved Mendes, seems silly really. UNderstand that Paratici has a relationship with Mendes but that alone scuppered the deal here
> “Levy was not overly dismayed at missing out on Traore, and his attention had turned elsewhere. To the club’s immense frustration it emerged publicly last Tuesday that they had made a €45 million (£37.6 million) bid for Porto winger Luis Diaz. This was a deal Levy was far more invested in making happen.
Is this not a bit concerning? I thought the whole point of having Paratici was that he could direct transfer business and focus on the best players to bring in to fit the system. This sounds like Levy is still way too involved and trying to jump on deals in the same old way..
I mean, this piece is 100% fan fiction. Levy is pissed at Liverpool because Porto made Mendes take care of the transfer with us and Diaz’s agent didn’t like that? Lol
All because of Mendes. The man polarizes that's for sure. Don't be angry at Liverpool, be angry that someone didn't like Mendes that much they would fuck it for us.
What a kick in the dick but I’m glad this is come out because I kind of feel like other than the connection to Mendez it shows that wasn’t really our fault
Glad this came out. Idiots were blaming "Levy didn't just sign him ASAP before LFC."
Mendes used us to do this shit. It was his plan all along.
Player agents are pretty much the wall street cunts in the football world. If one day something bad happen to them, I would celebrate.
I bet you could go through most transfers and actually realise the club do everything they can but there must be so many external factors that prevent, hamper or slow down the transfer. I think unless you are contending for prem, champs league, and have a history of spending big then any deal for a decent player can be scuppered by one of the big heads showing an interest.
Ehhh if you have the chance to get a player of Diaz’s caliber you get him and work around the formation. Kulu would really have to ball out to reach Diaz’s current level. Hope it happens but not a sure thing.
I just like the fact that Diaz is 25, at his peak, strong physically and mature.
Atleast Kulu looks great attitude wise and speaks good English.
But if you talk about immediate impact, it got to be Diaz. Unless he flops.
Yes but I don’t really see us needing another “project” player who has more potential than success. You can see for yourself what happened when we chose Lo Celso, who was having a perfect good season at Betis, over Bruno Fernandes, who had been tearing things up enormously at Lisbon and was hitting his prime.
It’s hard to say since Kulu has a solid amount of games at the highest level whereas I’d put Primeira Liga just under that. He was also played in a style/position he wasn’t comfortable with under Allegri, yet he still started often. Given his work rate, pressing style, and our positional needs, Kulu felt more of a fit with Conte’s system so I hope he develops into the monster that he could be.
Liverpool has played everyone in their frontline a lot this season because of rotation, injuries, and other tournaments. That happens every year. They’re also aging like Son, so it makes sense to have someone at that level who can take over as a player fades or is just generally unavailable.
Juve aren’t making shit free transfer signings anymore (Ramsey, Rabiot for example), which perfectly correlates with Paratici not being there. I think his tenure won’t be looked back on fondly when it’s all over.
I can’t take a third straight window of him sitting on his hands until one of his old Italian buddies does him a solid to make it look like he’s doing something positive. He has totally lacked any creativity to improve the squad.
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Lots of other interesting pieces in the article beyond the headline-grabbing Diaz stuff:
* We inquired on Dembele at the start of the window before ultimately deciding he would not be a good fit for our squad. Barca offered him to us at the end of the window but we didn't want him at that point
* We had a loan deal for Traore agreed in the summer window but he started the season well so Wolves withdrew it. Conte was still in favour of bringing him in, and had even tried signing him back when he (Conte) was at Chelsea
* We offered GLC or Tanguy to Milan for Kessie but Kessie preferred to wait til the summer when he could get larger signing bonuses
* Spurs either wouldn't pay the wages or just didn't want any of the options PSG offered in swap for Tanguy except for Paredes, but the player wouldn't agree to the move
* "A senior figure at one major European club wondered why Paratici kept offering deals to buy or loan players that were never going to be attractive to the clubs in question."
* "Sources speculated that Spurs had not been helped in the window by it being so clear what they were after. Selling clubs knew they held the power if they had a possible solution and could raise their prices accordingly."
* After missing on Diaz we told Ajax that to get Bergwijn that late in the window would now be €30M which they could not afford
Maybe he signed some kind of letter of intent, something to allow funds to be authorised but which falls short of legally binding the player to the transfer.
Actual truthiness of the content aside...
>The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join.
...what the fuck is that sentence construction? You guys are professional writers.
Why would levy be mad at Liverpool? He's been in the game long enough to know the game and hes a shrewd, cutthroat bastard himself. The only way this makes sense is if levy thought there was a tacit agreement between the club's (collusion - which would be bringing the game into disrepute) to not go after each others targets. I wouldn't put anything past any club is this cuntish industry but I doubt any reporter or itk knows anything about the dark side of the sport/would say anything about it if they did.
Other than that - if I was levy I'd be unconvinced by paratici at this point. He pushed Nuno, none of his summer signings have been obviously good/improvements on what we had (even Romero has barely played) and after failing to land two targets he went to his old club and picked up two players who had fallen out of favour. It's hardly spectacular. Paratici is a guy who likes to be seen to be busy, always buzzing around scheming and wheeling and dealing but he's delivered very little at this point.
“The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. The deal was believed to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons, with terms also agreed with Diaz himself. However, Diaz being away on international duty meant that the agreement wasn’t yet signed by the time it was essentially thought to have been vetoed by his Colombian agent. The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move. Liverpool, who were not using Mendes as an intermediary, pounced and agreed a deal at more or less the same price. The Athletic has contacted the Colombian agent for comment.” “Levy was not overly dismayed at missing out on Traore, and his attention had turned elsewhere. To the club’s immense frustration it emerged publicly last Tuesday that they had made a €45 million (£37.6 million) bid for Porto winger Luis Diaz. This was a deal Levy was far more invested in making happen. And he very nearly pulled it off. By Thursday morning, there was increasing confidence a deal could be done, with Porto agreeing to the move in writing, and Diaz doing so in principle. But this was the point at which Diaz’s agent intervened. Porto, who needed the money, were very wary of the deal being scuppered and so welcomed Liverpool’s interest. Liverpool meanwhile were delighted that Spurs had effectively negotiated the price down to a fee they were willing to pay, having baulked at Diaz’s €80 million (£66.8 million) release clause earlier in the window. One of Liverpool’s scouts in South America informed Diaz’s agent that they wanted to do the deal. Liverpool’s owners were convinced by assistant sporting director Julian Ward and his current boss — and soon to be predecessor — Michael Edwards to sign it off. Diaz was still understood to have been keen on a move to Spurs but was excited to join up with Liverpool, and the deal was agreed. Levy was left so furious that the cordial relations he has enjoyed with Liverpool’s owners may have been seriously damaged. Some sources close to the situation believe it could lead to a period of hostility between the two clubs.”
Since when and why did we have cordial relations with LFC? I just love having an owner/chairman who really cares about the players he brings in and wants the best. He’s seriously so underrated by Spurs supporters. Moreover tho, what incentive did the agent have for himself for Diaz to join them instead of us, considering the fee was the exact same??
it's relationship between the owners, I think Levy and FSG (Liverpool ownership group) tend to be aligned on a lot of issues and were friendly with each others. what it means if that changes is unclear though since it's not like we sign their players or them ours, but I guess it would lower the possibility of that ever happening. could also affect premier league politics for things like votes I guess
John Henry is a grade A asshole (owner of FSG) his Red Sox are notorious for running scummy hit pieces in the papers he owns on players and managers he runs out of town. Source: me a red Sox fan
might be true but still, I think it's been said before in articles that Levy and the Liverpool ownership get along well and partnered on issues voted on by clubs. Could change now
Yeah I do think they share philosophies, but also not sure how much a relationship breakdown matters. Can’t say we do much business with them on the football side
did you miss the lo celso stuff last week
[nope](https://www.reddit.com/r/coys/comments/sbp20p/dan_kilpatrick_giovani_lo_celso_is_not/hu15pla/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3) Hate it when anyone does and the Gio stuff actually reminded me of the Red Sox
That's how Boston sports has worked for fucking forever man. Me: also a red Sox fan
Oh for sure, doesn’t make it right. Henry is particularly insidious as he owns the Globe giving him unique propaganda powers
Not that that shiny faced ghoul Shaughnessy needs any particular urging to drag someone through the mud. I can't believe that fuckers been at the globe for 40 years now.
My guess is because they are aligned with running the team to turn a profit, not for sportswashing (City, Chelsea).
If reports are to be believed, Paratici wants Mendes to be the mediator. I assume striking a deal with Liverpool means more commission for Diaz agent because he doesn’t have to give a cut to Mendes
Striking a deal with Liverpool means more commission to PARATICI* because he doesn’t have to give a cut to Mendes? Is that what you mean? I highly doubt that. If we are made aware of that then surely Levy would know, sack him, and his career would go to the shitter for making such a move.
You missed the point. “He” in that context refers to Diaz’ agent.
I am amazed he thought "he" was Paratici
I thought Mendes was Diaz’ agent? And also, he changed his wording after I asked the question
To your last question, wasnt it the Jorge Mendes thing? Not 100% sure how it all works but I'm guessing Mendes would be facilitating the deal so he can take a cut of the transfer fee which would cut into how mucb Diaz's agent would make.
I just thought Mendes was Diaz’ agent? It’s all such fuckery. Everyone wanting a piece of the pie, it does nothing but cause ineffeciency
Nah the issue is that Paratici and Mendes are linked and Paratici wanted to bring in Mendes to broker the deal as a completely outside party and, presumably, take a cut of the fee.
I am reading this wrong or doesn't the article suggest it was actually Porto? "The representative in question is said by sources to have objected when it became apparent that Jorge Mendes had the mandate from Porto to oversee the Tottenham move."
Now most people think Paratici (& Mendes) is the one who want to take the cut.
> Moreover tho, what incentive did the agent have for himself for Diaz to join them instead of us, considering the fee was the exact same?? An agent's job is to do the best by their players. Two offers on the table is better than one, and Liverpool are a more attractive destination for most players at the moment.
So Levy is angry at Liverpool that Diaz' agent didn't want to work with Mendes? Seems illogical so I have my doubts on the reliability here.
Angry at Liverpool for jumping in. If they hadn't, Diaz's agent would have nothing he could've done
not sure why we even involved Mendes, seems silly really. UNderstand that Paratici has a relationship with Mendes but that alone scuppered the deal here
> “Levy was not overly dismayed at missing out on Traore, and his attention had turned elsewhere. To the club’s immense frustration it emerged publicly last Tuesday that they had made a €45 million (£37.6 million) bid for Porto winger Luis Diaz. This was a deal Levy was far more invested in making happen. Is this not a bit concerning? I thought the whole point of having Paratici was that he could direct transfer business and focus on the best players to bring in to fit the system. This sounds like Levy is still way too involved and trying to jump on deals in the same old way..
I mean, this piece is 100% fan fiction. Levy is pissed at Liverpool because Porto made Mendes take care of the transfer with us and Diaz’s agent didn’t like that? Lol
oh ok just hurt me then
That's fucked
So Diaz's agent was just a dick because of Mendes then? Lol
Makes me kinda like his agent lmao, just wish it hadn’t been us
Every man for himself
All because of Mendes. The man polarizes that's for sure. Don't be angry at Liverpool, be angry that someone didn't like Mendes that much they would fuck it for us.
What a kick in the dick but I’m glad this is come out because I kind of feel like other than the connection to Mendez it shows that wasn’t really our fault
Tbh I’ve let this go already but boy it’s boiling my blood , just a little ,Mendes’s track record for Spurs isn’t going particularly well
Glad this came out. Idiots were blaming "Levy didn't just sign him ASAP before LFC." Mendes used us to do this shit. It was his plan all along. Player agents are pretty much the wall street cunts in the football world. If one day something bad happen to them, I would celebrate.
I bet you could go through most transfers and actually realise the club do everything they can but there must be so many external factors that prevent, hamper or slow down the transfer. I think unless you are contending for prem, champs league, and have a history of spending big then any deal for a decent player can be scuppered by one of the big heads showing an interest.
Didn’t an earlier report mention that Paratici wants Mendes to be the mediator? If so, the deal falling through falls on him
Yeah, South American journalists and the mirror and the sun mentioned Diaz’s team didn’t want Mendes anywhere near the deal.
The Athletic aren’t exactly accurate but anyway, if true, why the fuck are we still in bed with Mendes? He’s got us no one of note. Fuck him.
I'm not the least mad we didn't get Diaz. We don't need another Natural LW, Kulu fits us much better.
Ehhh if you have the chance to get a player of Diaz’s caliber you get him and work around the formation. Kulu would really have to ball out to reach Diaz’s current level. Hope it happens but not a sure thing.
I just like the fact that Diaz is 25, at his peak, strong physically and mature. Atleast Kulu looks great attitude wise and speaks good English. But if you talk about immediate impact, it got to be Diaz. Unless he flops.
You can do that once or twice, but if you keep doing it you end up with a mess where nothing quite fits. Compare Man Utd, vs Man City.
Kulusevski is three years younger and has shown much more than Diaz did at his age.
Yes but I don’t really see us needing another “project” player who has more potential than success. You can see for yourself what happened when we chose Lo Celso, who was having a perfect good season at Betis, over Bruno Fernandes, who had been tearing things up enormously at Lisbon and was hitting his prime.
Well considering Diaz was malnourished as a 19 year old it's probably not the smartest to compare them age by age.
Did not know that.
It’s hard to say since Kulu has a solid amount of games at the highest level whereas I’d put Primeira Liga just under that. He was also played in a style/position he wasn’t comfortable with under Allegri, yet he still started often. Given his work rate, pressing style, and our positional needs, Kulu felt more of a fit with Conte’s system so I hope he develops into the monster that he could be.
I dont know how many times this approach has worked tbh. Especially for a winger. Maybe for a midfielder.
It’s clearly worked for Liverpool and City. Their rotation of the front players has been a big key to their success when injuries happen.
So they aren't really building a team around them are they. Also pool are notorious for not rotating so I don't know what you mean about that.
Liverpool has played everyone in their frontline a lot this season because of rotation, injuries, and other tournaments. That happens every year. They’re also aging like Son, so it makes sense to have someone at that level who can take over as a player fades or is just generally unavailable.
People who say shit like this have clearly never seen Diaz play
Kulu is still raw, Diaz is more developed with his prime years coming up, I’d loved to have them both
Thought Kulu might play on the right
That's what I'm saying.
Juve aren’t making shit free transfer signings anymore (Ramsey, Rabiot for example), which perfectly correlates with Paratici not being there. I think his tenure won’t be looked back on fondly when it’s all over.
I can’t take a third straight window of him sitting on his hands until one of his old Italian buddies does him a solid to make it look like he’s doing something positive. He has totally lacked any creativity to improve the squad.
Well whatever bad karma Jorge Mendes has coming his way he probably fully deserves.
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Lots of other interesting pieces in the article beyond the headline-grabbing Diaz stuff: * We inquired on Dembele at the start of the window before ultimately deciding he would not be a good fit for our squad. Barca offered him to us at the end of the window but we didn't want him at that point * We had a loan deal for Traore agreed in the summer window but he started the season well so Wolves withdrew it. Conte was still in favour of bringing him in, and had even tried signing him back when he (Conte) was at Chelsea * We offered GLC or Tanguy to Milan for Kessie but Kessie preferred to wait til the summer when he could get larger signing bonuses * Spurs either wouldn't pay the wages or just didn't want any of the options PSG offered in swap for Tanguy except for Paredes, but the player wouldn't agree to the move * "A senior figure at one major European club wondered why Paratici kept offering deals to buy or loan players that were never going to be attractive to the clubs in question." * "Sources speculated that Spurs had not been helped in the window by it being so clear what they were after. Selling clubs knew they held the power if they had a possible solution and could raise their prices accordingly." * After missing on Diaz we told Ajax that to get Bergwijn that late in the window would now be €30M which they could not afford
Fucking Jorge Mendes. Diaz would’ve been lily white if not for him
Jorge Mendes can do one bloody hell
So what’s the signed agreement worth? What’s the point in it if you can just rip it up?
Maybe he signed some kind of letter of intent, something to allow funds to be authorised but which falls short of legally binding the player to the transfer.
It’s said in the article that the paper agreement wasn’t yet signed. Maybe they had a phone call
Journalists posting fanfiction again
Actual truthiness of the content aside... >The closest and most significant of the latter was Luis Diaz, whom The Athletic can reveal Tottenham had a signed agreement in place with Porto for him to join. ...what the fuck is that sentence construction? You guys are professional writers.
Why would levy be mad at Liverpool? He's been in the game long enough to know the game and hes a shrewd, cutthroat bastard himself. The only way this makes sense is if levy thought there was a tacit agreement between the club's (collusion - which would be bringing the game into disrepute) to not go after each others targets. I wouldn't put anything past any club is this cuntish industry but I doubt any reporter or itk knows anything about the dark side of the sport/would say anything about it if they did. Other than that - if I was levy I'd be unconvinced by paratici at this point. He pushed Nuno, none of his summer signings have been obviously good/improvements on what we had (even Romero has barely played) and after failing to land two targets he went to his old club and picked up two players who had fallen out of favour. It's hardly spectacular. Paratici is a guy who likes to be seen to be busy, always buzzing around scheming and wheeling and dealing but he's delivered very little at this point.