Rios crossroads: Roma not prepared to fight Benfica at 30m fee

Roma have not yet put the necessary €30m offer in for Richard Rios, which would’ve done the deal, but Benfica are now prepared to meet the Palmeiras asking price and seal it.

The negotiations have been going for a while and several bids were tabled to the Brazilian side, knowing full well what the demand was going to be.

Now on July 18, the Giallorossi have still not reached the figure of €30m that would’ve got the agreement over the line in 10 minutes flat.

Roma knew what it would take for Rios

With this hesitation, Benfica are ready to get in there and take full advantage to poach Rios from under Roma’s noses.

The Portuguese side already have the advantage of agreeing personal terms with the midfielder and now their mission is to complete the transfer with Palmeiras too.

They managed to convince Rios that they would be the most suitable destination for him and Roma simply were not prepared to go any further.

This included a phone call between the player and Benfica chief Manuel Rui Costa.

Meanwhile, Neil El Aynaoui arrives this weekend for his medical after Roma agreed the €25m including add-ons deal with RC Lens.