News on a Trio of South Americans

By: Martha | August 6th, 2007

Named after a women’s sanitary product. Lucky man. As RomaChris has been discussing for ages, Roma really, really want to keep Mancini, so much so that they’re willing to bust their pretty strict salary cap for him. In fact, word a week ago was that they had successfully worked out an extension to keep the Brazilian in the capital through 2012. Oddly enough, though, Mancini’s agent Gilmar Veloz says they’re still waiting to hammer out a deal with the club. In a casual conversation with La Gazzetta dello Sport, said agent made sure to mention (again) that Mancini “has proven in Italy that he could play in any country.” Not that he’s threatening anything, Roma. (Get ready for more stories of phantom offers from abroad.)

Veloz — a man who seems unwilling to stay quiet for as much as a week — also represents Mancini’s countryman, aging Real Marid midfielder Emerson. Depending on what day it is, Emerson is either moments from a deal with Inter Milan (who still don’t whether or not they’ll be able to count on the rehabbing Patrick Vieira this season) or bound and determined to stay at Real; since the date is divisible by three and it’s a Monday, today it’s the latter. According to Veloz, there have been no negotiations between the clubs, and he obviously “cannot speak about something that does not exist.” Except, you know, when he does.

Moving on to Brazil’s vanquished Copa America opponents, meanwhile, Fiorentina continue to court players whose salaries they are unlikely to be able to pay. This time, their target is Atletico Madrid’s Argentine attacker, Maxi Rodriguez. Rodriguez (who you surely remember for his sick World Cup goal and pathetic World Cup punch) is not only a useful player but also holds an Italian passport, a bonus trait that instantly makes him more desirable to any team in Serie A. Though the Viola have been associated with a whole lot of players this summer, this particular story seems to be at least semi-serious, and the club are reportedly ready to table a new offer of €18 million — an increase of €3 million over their first, rejected attempt. Even if the clubs can reach an agreement, though, there is the question of salary, and whether Rodriguez would be willing to submit to Fiorentina’s €1.5 million salary cap is a rather massive question.