Transfer Centre

Liverpool's £33m Joao Mario bid rejected by Sporting Lisbon

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 26 July 2016

The father of Joao Mario claims that both Liverpool and Inter Milan have had bids in the region of £33m knocked back for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder.

Sporting Lisbon have rejected a bid of €40m (£33m) from Liverpool for the signing of Joao Mario, according to the player's father.

The 23-year-old's future has been the subject of intense speculation since helping national side Portugal to Euro 2016 success earlier this summer.

Sporting are reluctant to let their star midfielder depart the club, however, with president Bruno De Carvalho reiterating recently that any bids will be knocked back.

Inter Milan and Liverpool are among those said to have shown an interest in Mario, but have so far been unsuccessful with their respective approaches.

"Proposals for the boy don't come directly to me," his father told Diario de Noticias. "They go to his agent, Kia Joorabchian, and the Sporting president.

"I was informed, however, that the club said no to €35m plus €10m in bonuses from Inter and to €40m from Liverpool."

Joao Mario, also linked with a move to Chelsea of late, scored six goals and claimed 11 assists for Sporting in the Primeira Liga last season.