Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas has confirmed down that he turned down a transfer offer from Tottenham as he felt certain performance-related bonuses were unrealistic - including winning the Premier League.
Spurs were among a handful of European teams who were keeping tabs on Fernandes after he picked up 32 goals and 18 assists across all competitions last season, eventually submitting an offer of €45m plus €20m in bonuses.
But Sporting's Varandas, who is now set to offer Fernandes an improved contract at the José Alvalade Stadium, claims that he turned down their offer as he didn't believe that Tottenham would be able to match some of the clauses.
"We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on him, and we had bids, but the only serious offer was from Tottenham and that was €45m plus another €20m in bonuses for winning the Premier League and the Champions League," Varandas told the club's official website.
"Those are difficult objectives, so we chose not to accept. Bruno Fernandes proved to be not only a great player but a great professional and captain. The dignity and responsibility that he has always shown is exemplary.
"The day I turned down Tottenham’s proposal, I came to the training ground and spoke to him. I told him why I declined the offer and why he would stay here beyond the end of the market and he understood perfectly.
"In addition, he also understood that the bid they offered us was not fair. He’s not leaving, he’s a Sporting player. Many European clubs want him and we know this is something we will always have to deal with."
Keeping Fernandes opened the door for players like Bas Dost (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Raphinha (Stade Rennais) to leave Lisbon during the summer, while they re-invested in Atlético Madrid's Luciano Vietto, as well as Merseyside duo Rafael Camacho and Yannick Bolasie.
Source :
90min
