Tottenham Hotspur tried in vain to sign a one-time Brazilian wonderkid Lulinha at the start of his career, agent Wagner Ribeiro has claimed.
Lulinha burst one to the scene at Corinthians over a decade ago and set the Brazilian Serie A on fire as a teenager.
The silky attacking midfielder was prolific for Brazil’s Under-17 side, scoring 16 times in 16 appearances and was even dubbed the ‘new Ronaldinho’ at the time.
He was considered to be Brazil’s next breakout superstar and it looked as though it would only be a matter of time before he got a big move to Europe.
However, Lulinha’s career did not deliver anywhere near what it promised as he struggled to adapt after getting a move to Portugal as a youngster, only to return to Brazil two years later.
The midfielder has plied his trade in Asia since 2016 and now represents Japanese second-tier side Jubilo Iwata.
The 30-year-old is part of a long list of Brazilian wonderkids who failed to live up to their potential but it turns out that Spurs showed serious interest in him at one time.
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Ribeiro, who is one of the most well-known agents in Brazil and was instrumental in engineering Robinho’s transfer from Santos to Spanish giants Real Madrid, told UOL (as relayed by HITC) that Juande Ramos’ Spurs made a £6m offer for the midfielder in 2007.
He is quoted as saying: “Lulinha was 16 years old. Tottenham came to me with an offer of £6 million. (Corinthians) said they would only sell for £50 million.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Given the manner in which Lulinha’s career has transpired, Spurs were certainly lucky that Corinthians decided not to take the money for the midfielder. He would have been added to a long list of appalling singings we made during the Ramos era along with the likes of Gilberto and Dos Santos.
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