6 Dec 2012

Brazilian goal-machine admits: LFC were 'interested in signing me'. Big miss?

Brazilian striker Edinaldo Batista Libânio (aka Grafite) - currently captain of United Arab Emirates Pro-League club Al Ahli - has claimed that he came close to joining Liverpool FC in 2010.

Speaking to Sport 360 yesterday, Grafite - who's grabbed 28 goals in 27 games since joining the Emirates club - admitted that he still harbours dreams of playing in the Premier League, and revealed how a move to the UK was tantalisingly close to happening with the Reds. He explained:

“In 2009 after I won the German championship and finished top-scorer, I had some contact with English clubs but nothing materialised. The next year, in 2010, Liverpool contacted me and were interested in signing me, but we couldn’t find a way to make the move happen.

“For a player from outside Europe, you need to have played at least 75 per cent of games for the national team over the past two years and I didn’t feature enough for Brazil. Sometimes you can get a special visa and considering I was the top goal-scorer in Germany the previous season, I hoped we would find a way to make it happen, but it was not possible.”


It's not clear whether It was Rafa Benitez or Roy Hodgson who tried to sign Grafite, but in 2010 he would've been 31, which seems a little on the old side for Liverpool.

Still, the Brazilian has a pretty impressive goal record throughout his career, so he may have been a decent signing. Indeed, in 2008-9, Grafite grabbed 35 goals for Wolfsburg, and alongside Edin Dzeko, he formed part of the most prolific striking duo in Bundesliga history, which is probably what alerted the Reds in the first place.

It would've been great to have an attacking Brazilian at Liverpool for a change ;-)



Jaimie Kanwar


9 comments:

  1. If you want an attacking Brazilian, Kaka has admitted he may be leaving Real. Now that would be a fantastic signing! Grafite, sure he had a good season at Wolfsburg but the season after, when we allegedly were interested in signing him, he didn't do half as good. He's 33 now and even though Macca proved that aged doesn't mean everything, it's too old for a player who would command a fee.

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  2. Seems to be a lot of talk that Sturridge is the striker were after, i really hope its not this kid, is BR,s transfer ethos going to be based on his previous employment at swansea & chelski?

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  3. What amazes me, is that even though we desperately need goalscorers in our team, we continue to ignore South Americans in general.

    The South American continent is a hotbed of some of the most lethal goalscorers in world football yet we rarely venture there.

    Suarez has been amazing for us and partnering him with another South American is a no brainer in logic.

    For the price of Borini and Sturridge (20-25m) we could have had a realistic shot at landing Leandro Damiao.

    Yet no, we continue to squander money on lesser talent in our vain search for goals...

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  4. Kaka's wage demand would be twice as much as Suarez.

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  5. Good read.What most fans don;t know is that most ( of not all) Brazilians whom played at LFC had EU passport before joining.
    Diego Cavalieri ,Aurelio , Doni and even Lucas all had Italianpassports hence signed for liverpool .

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  6. So? Kaka earns 250,000K a week and is 30 and he has never played in the PL. At that age is hard for them to adapt to this type of League. Shevchenko is a prime example of this.

    Plus I don't think FSG would give the green light to this if it were ever to happen. But you never know.

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  7. I doubt that he'll be looking for 250k a week if he wants to play football again. No club in the world will pay him that with the slight exception of maybe PSG and Citeh and PSG do have Ancelloti there so that could seal it. Still, Kaka would not need to adapt to the Premier League. This is a guy who has played at the very highest level and stood out for years on end. Him and Gerrard in one midfield would not only be sensational to watch but also bring us fifteenhundred steps closer to winning the league if they'd stay fit. Two such talented players with the experience they have? Defences would be shaking in their boots. You make it sound like thirty is old :-)

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  8. LFC breathes a sigh of relief......

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