AS Roma failing to pull off a deal with Bordeaux for Malcom didn’t go down well with their Sporting Director Monchi, The Spaniard give a total breakdown of how they failed to sign the Brazilian.
Monchi explained that the Ligue 1 club considered there their agreement null and void after Barcelona made an improved offer, and that Roma are now looking at legal options to gain closure on the move collapsing.
"Once we found the agreement with Bordeaux, about 30 minutes later [Bordeaux] president, Stephane Martin, called me to tell me that there were a lot of rumours surrounding the deal, and for them it would be better to make an official statement," Monchi said on Tuesday night.
"I told him that, for us, it would not be ideal - as we are listed on the stock exchange and have to respect certain rules - but he insisted, and they ultimately did a tweet to announce the agreement.
"Because of this, we also followed up with the same statement. Everything was done, but about an hour after the announcement, there started to be suggestions of a new interest from Barcelona.
"It is true that, a few days ago, I was aware that a lot of squads were keen on Malcom - Barcelona among them. Because of this we got the deal agreed as quickly as we could: it was done. So I was very surprised when one of the representatives of the player called me to tell me that Bordeaux had withdrawn permission for the player to travel to Rome.
"I called Martin, and he told me that an offer had come in from Barcelona that was better than ours and that if we did not raise our offer we could not have the player. I told him that we had an agreement, we had made the deal, but he said that nothing had been signed and that, despite having exchanged some documents to be signed, nothing could be done.
"I informed our president, telling him of the change - and he gave me the green light to push forward and make a new offer that was better than Barcelona's. That was against my opinion, but he insisted he was willing and said: 'Go for it'."
After that, a series of negotiation began as it later ended in favour of Barcelona.
"I informed the Bordeaux president and his agents that Roma were ready to beat Barcelona's offer," he continued.
"The agents and the Bordeaux president told me that if all was agreed, [Tuesday] we would be able to exchange the documents and the player would again be authorised to travel to Rome in the evening.
"Early this morning I spoke with Malcom's agent, Fernando Garcia, who had a meeting with Bordeaux planned at 12pm to confirm everything was in place for the player to travel to Rome in the evening. After that meeting, I was surprised to be told that the agents and Bordeaux wanted another improved offer, as Barcelona were still pushing for a deal.
"I told them enough, because we did not want to enter an auction: we could not continue like that, and yesterday we had only raised our offer because of the willingness and desire of our president. So that was how everything ended.
"Now, within the club, we are looking at our options and seeing if we have a legal case. It is true that nothing was signed, but there are many messages with the agents and their president that are at least worth being assessed."
Monchi took time to also apologise to the Roma fans for them failing to sign the Brazilian, with many gathering to welcome the player at Rome airport on Monday evening.
"I am very sorry for what has happened, but I believe that we had a complete agreement with Bordeaux - and then offered even more than that to get it done again," stated Monchi.
"President Pallotta made the decision to make the best offer possible, but when the negotiation became an auction we decided to withdraw from it. If someone wants to come to Roma that is great, but ultimately if they do not want to come to Rome then we do not want them.
"I want to tell our fans that we are continuing to work hard, working to identify a player that wants to come to Roma and is the equal or even better than Malcom."
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