Sao Paulo holding on to Hernanes buyout fee

Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo claims that Barcelona could make a formal offer for São Paulo attacking midfielder and Brazilian international Hernanes (23) before the end of this week.

With São Paulo owning 75 per cent of the rights on the player, they will be the ones who will decide on a transfer. Sports marketing agency Traffic holds 17 per cent while Hernanes holds 8 per cent.

São Paulo football director João Paulo de Jesus Lopez said in an interview with Brazilian sports site Globo Esporte that his club didn't receive any bid from Barcelona so far and again referred to the 25 million euro° buyout fee (read more here): "Two representatives from Traffic keep on talking about a presumed offer of 11 million euro°. But we want to talk from club to club. And since we're not interested to sell Hernanes, we will only start negotiating if the offer is the equivalent of the buyout clause."

Hernanes, whose contract with São Paulo expires in 2012, said earlier this week in an interview with Brazilian television channel SporTV that everything will depend on the position of his current club:

"I am happy in São Paulo but I knew this moment would come although I didn't expect it to come that soon. I'm calm about the whole situation cause I know everyting will depend on São Paulo. There's nothing official yet, but the board should anyhow first give the green light. If that comes, I will be more relaxed to think about what I want. But if the club doesn't want to negotiate, I will just stay here."

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Club-agent dispute could cancel Hernanes move

Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo claims that Barcelona could stop every negotiation on the transfer of São Paulo attacking midfielder and Brazilian international Hernanes (23) because of a dispute between São Paulo and sports marketing agency Traffic.

Frederico Pena, the agent of Hernanes, said to the paper that the climate that has been created by São Paulo has made the Barcelona officials, who were in Brazil this week, feel uncomfortable about the whole operation: "Due to aggressive speculation, a negative situation has been created. What looked good at the beginning has now turned into some kind of cold war. I think that the transfer will be cancelled. There's just no appropriate climate to negotiate."

Board members of the Brazilian club think that Traffic, who also ownes 8 per cent of the player's transfer rights, has pressured Hernanes to accept the offer made by Barcelona. The agency would also have put the news out that a deal had already been closed (read more here). São Paulo nevertheless only wants to sell when the buyout fee of 25 million euro° is paid, while Barcelona has offered only 11 million euro°.

Pena says the agency doesn't have any power to close a deal on the player: "Those 8 per cent are a part of an investment fund and do not give us the right to take part in the negotiations. Another question is the management of the athlete's career, that's what we do. We just brought the Barcelona offer to São Paulo, who can then accept it or not."

While São Paulo states it still has not heard anything from Barcelona (read more here), Pena says that his agency has communicated the proposal made by Barcelona to the Brazilian club: "They have received a verbal but authorized bid." The proposal would have been made to two close advisers of São Paulo president Juvenal Juvêncio.

Catalan sports paper Sport nevertheless claims that the negotiations on the transfer are well-advanced and that a deal could be closed and annouced soon. Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that the talks are difficult because of the high asking price but that all options are still open.

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