PSG Chose to Sign Rafinha After Missing Out on Brother Thiago Alcantara

The father of Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has confessed that Paris Saint-Germain wanted to sign him during the summer, but eventually had to settle for brother Rafinha instead.

Thiago had entered the final year of his contract with Bayern Munich and made it clear he did not want to stay, and there were plenty of huge clubs interested in getting a deal for the Spaniard over the line.

Liverpool were identified as early leaders in the race for his signature and eventually reached a cut-price agreement to sign Thiago for around £25m, and the midfielder's father has revealed to France Football (via Goal) that PSG responded by signing Rafinha instead.

“I had spoken with [PSG director] Leonardo some time ago, but it was for Thiago,” Mazinho Alcantara said. “Leonardo wanted to sign him for PSG, but Thiago had already made a deal with Liverpool.

“We then talked about Rafa, but he was not part of Leonardo's plans at that time. I think he must have thought about it, that he saw the nature of the opportunity and it would be a blow to sign him. When he started talking again, Leonardo had changed his mind. And it all sped up on the last day. It was Monday that we had to work hard to convince both clubs.

“We were scared, but thank God, five or six hours before the deadline, we made a deal. Leonardo wanted Thiago, he got Rafinha. And for Rafa, it was a dream to join such a club.”

Rafinha was allowed to leave Barcelona on a free transfer as part of the Spanish side's quest to lower their soaring wage bill, and Mazinho added that his experience at Camp Nou means he will not struggle to adapt to life in Paris.

“PSG often play in a 4-3-3 that looks like Barca's," he continued. "Rafa knows a lot of players like Neymar, but also [Mauro] Icardi, [Pablo] Sarabia. It's not going to be hard to fit in.

“He will have to understand the dynamics that the coach wants, but I'm not worried. He is tactically well prepared and is always trying to figure out what the manager wants. He can play three places in the middle, and three places in front. He did it at Barca, he was trained like this.”

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