AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has insisted that the deal to sign Geoffrey Kondogbia was in place, before AS Monaco decided to accept the offer of Inter Milan.
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Geoffrey Kondogbiaa s transfer saga is finally approaching its conclusion as the Frenchman is on the verge joining Inter. The 22-year-olda s future was under constant speculation this summer with a host of club being linked with a move for him. Arsenal and AC Milan were initially considered to be the frontrunners, while clubs who were chasing the signature of Paul Pogba had Kondogbia as their back-up option.
AS Monaco were willing to listen to offers, but were unwilling to step down from their demands. AC Milan made the first move to sign the former Seville midfielder with Adriano Galliani travelling to France to open negotiations. Initial reports suggested that the Italian club were unwilling to meet Monacoa s asking price, but later agreed to pay the fee in instalments.
Inter however stepped in and submitted a bid of their own, and were able to steal Kondogbia right under the nose of Galliani and Milan. The Milan CEO has now revealed how they did reach an agreement with the French club and the player, only to left high dry in the end.
a At 1.30 it was all done. Monaco had given us the all-clear for the sale at a 40m with payment spread over two years, a 20m and a 20m.
a The agreement with Geoffrey had already been sorted out the night before and was confirmed that same morning by him and his father.
a After we exchanged the documentation, at 1.30pm everyone disappeared. Evidently they changed their minds or the others offered more.a a Galliani said.
Inter have reportedly offered to pay a 40m, while offering a 5m per season to the midfielder as wage. Milana s offer was dwarfed by this.
a I told (Doyen Sports representative) Nelio Lucas, in certain negotiations you have to act like a father with children. A a noa is more difficult to accept than a a yes,a but we cannot accept these figures.
a At times it requires more courage to get up and walk away from the table than to stay, so leta s go.a a The Milan CEO added.
Meanwhile Milan are also seemingly on the verge of losing the battle to sign Jackson Martinez as well. Atletico Madrid and Arsenal have stepped up their interest to sign the striker and the Spanish club seem like the favourite at the moment. Galliani however believes that Milan might be able to turn this in their favour by investing the money they saved from these two deals on other players.
a If we save a 40m on Kondogbia and a 35m on Jackson Martinez, wea ll have another a 75m to spend wisely over the rest of the transfer window.
a Whether thata s a good or a bad thing, only time will tella a a He said in an interview.