CONFIRMED: Long-running PSG transfer saga officially 'done'

Suraj Radia

• 18 Jan 2024 19:10 GMT
• 3 min read

One of the transfer sagas surrounding Paris Saint-Germain has officially been resolved after the president of Brazilian side Corinthians confirmed that the deal to sell Gabriel Moscardo to the Ligue 1 giants is ‘done’.

Moscardo had long been in negotiations with PSG and was expected to make his move to France early in the transfer window, however the deal stalled despite talks being advanced.

“Moscardo is no longer a Corinthians player. The deal is done. He was sold to PSG. The story is over,” club president Augusto Melo told ‘Jogo Aberto’, with a fee believed to be in excess of €20 million.

Reports in France claimed that PSG had discovered a problem in Moscardo’s foot which could require surgery, prompting them to return to Corinthians with fresh negotiations for the 18-year-old, who had been monitored by the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.

Consequently, PSG looked to delay the deal until the summer, which included the payment to Corinthians, and Melo said: “If I didn't allow it, he was going to leave for less than that. PSG wanted to operate and see afterwards, but that was out of the question.

“We warned PSG and the club agreed to buy him with the risk linked to his operation, all the risks, specifies the president. We also required in the contract that we advance the sale through a fund to get the money sooner. They accepted, so he goes to PSG.”

PSG look set to miss out on midfield signing in January

Moscardo becomes the second Brazilian wonderkid to agree a move to PSG this month, with defender Lucas Beraldo joining on the opening day of the window from Sao Paulo for €20m.

PSG had wanted a midfielder this winter but they appear to be content at getting their target in Moscardo in the summer instead, having also accepted they will not be signing Bruno Guimaraes this month either.

Guimaraes is considered a top target of PSG and the French side had initially considered making a move for him, however Newcastle are refusing to sell their talismanic Brazilian for anything less than the release clause in his contract, believed to be in excess of €100m, while the player himself has no desire to leave this month.

Focus will now likely be on the future of Kylian Mbappe, with PSG desperate to avoid seeing their star man leave on a free transfer in the summer as Real Madrid push to sign the French captain.