REAL MADRID
Real Madrid to fight Barcelona for Brazilian Gabriel Jesús
Just when it seemed like Barça had pretty much tied up the deal for the young star, Madrid have made a move to steal him from under their biggest rival's nose.
Madrid and Barcelona are fighting it out for the signing of Palmeiras striker Gabriel Jesús. He's the current top scorer in the Brazilian league and is still only 19 years old.
It had seemed that the deal was already done with the Catalan side - with president Bartomeu describing the young star in glowing terms - and the club's scout, André Curry, working on the deal for several months. Director of football, Raul Sanllehí, also travelled to South America to finalise the deal, willing to pay the release clause of 24 million euros. This value in the player's contract was available to set clubs - Barça, Madrid, PSG, Manchester United and Bayern - with other interested parties such as Inter Milan having to fork out 40 million.
Head turner
So, with the situation looking to be closed, and following on the back of Florentino Pérez's failed attempt to get Neymar to make the big switch - the Clásico rival has attempted to turn the head of the young player who some have described as "the next Neymar". As well as paying Palmeiras the 24 million required to release the player from his contract, Los Blancos are offering the player a greater financial incentive. Barça had agreed to allow Jesús to remain in Brazil for the coming season on loan so that he could play in the Copa Libertadores but now everything could change.
Extra investment
The deal is complicated somewhat with the structure of the player's ownership. Palmeiras has 30%, the player himself 15% and the other 55% split over agents. To complete the deal it's likely that an extra ten million euros would be required, at least, in commission.