‘We can’t fool the fans’ – Manager rules out prospect of signing Spurs star this year

Sao Paulo manager Rogerio Ceni has insisted that there is no chance of Lucas Moura returning to the Brazilian club any time soon, given the wages that the winger is currently earning at Tottenham.

Tottenham had the option of extending Moura’s current contract, which runs out at the end of the summer, by another 12 months but the North London club chose against activating it, which means the winger is expected to leave as a free agent in the summer (The Telegraph).

Sao Paulo club director Carlos Belmonte told ESPN Brasil last week that he has had conversations with the Tottenham man and the player had agreed to re-sign with his boyhood club when he eventually decides to return to Brazil.

However, The Atheltic reported on Thursday that returning to Brazil is not likely to be a priority for the 30-year-old when he becomes a free agent next summer. Ceni has now ruled out the possibility of Moura arriving at Morumbi within the ‘next few years’.

The Sao Paulo boss told Globo Esporte: “We have to stop deceiving the fans. He doesn’t come to Sao Paulo now, he should earn a fortune at Tottenham. I would love to have Lucas here, he would have a captain’s armband and be a starter on the right wing.

“Lucas will have a great opportunity to be free on the market. He won’t come to Sao Paulo, we can’t fool the fans. It’s even an unnecessary pressure on the boy, an exceptional boy. 

“Lucas Moura will not be at Sao Paulo in the coming years. I believe he’ll come to say goodbye, but this is not the time. It’s time for him to make the rest of his life in the European market. We should close this case.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

If Lucas can put his injury troubles behind him, there is no doubt that he can continue playing at the highest level for a couple of years. At 30 years of age, the winger might also want one last payday in a European club before returning to Brazil, and there will be no shortage of interest in him.

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