Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are to bid for Sporting Lisbon winger Joao Mario, according to Abola. The Portuguese newspaper believes that genuine proposals could come from the two clubs at any time.
Joao Mario’s father and his agent Kia Joorabchian have both separately confirmed that Liverpool bid €40million (£33.5m) for the 23 year old, while Inter Milan also bid €35million euros for the player. Both offers were rejected by Sporting and the Reds have subsequently bought Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United for £25million suggesting the Reds won’t be making another bid for the midfielder.
Joao Mario played an important role for Portugal as they won the European Championships in France, but it is believed that the player and his agent Joorabchian are currently locked in contract talks with Sporting, with the player feeling he deserves a bumper pay rise after his exploits in the Euros. Joorabchian has publicly stated that Sporting should either offer Mario a substantial contract offer or allow the player to leave.
