Romano: “There’s news coming out of England today that Liverpool want to hijack Semenyo’s transfer. Let me explain the situation to you. Liverpool have been pursuing Semenyo all along—since November, before Christmas, and also in recent days.”
“So far, Liverpool have never contacted Bournemouth to open talks about the transfer, nor have they told them they will pay the release clause. The reason this hasn’t happened is because the player’s preference has already been made clear; he indicated a desire to join Manchester City a few days before Christmas.”
“Manchester City are confident that Semenyo will join them. They are relaxed about the situation and will make contact with Bournemouth. As I said, before January starts, they will try to finalize Semenyo’s transfer as soon as possible. The deadline for the £65 million release clause is January 10th, so Manchester City and Bournemouth will continue to make contact in the next few days to try to reach an agreement.”
“Liverpool are contacting the player and his agent to understand the situation, but so far, it’s only preliminary inquiries. If Liverpool decide to take concrete action to hijack the transfer, I will update you in a timely manner. Manchester City have reached an agreement with Semenyo and are negotiating with Bournemouth, while Liverpool are not yet involved.”
“It’s a release clause, and a short-term one—the £65 million release clause expires on January 10th. This means: although it’s financially different from a free transfer, the transfer process is similar to a free transfer. This is not a direct club-to-club negotiation; such contacts are only to explore other possibilities. Otherwise, you would communicate directly and pay the release clause. It’s similar to a free agent, because the player holds all the initiative in such deals.”
“Therefore, Liverpool have indeed been in communication, but it didn’t start today or yesterday—it started as early as November. Manchester City have reached an agreement with Semenyo on financial terms and are confident of completing the deal with Bournemouth. That’s the current situation.”
“Many people have asked if Manchester United have joined the race for the player. As of tonight, no. Manchester United have not re-engaged in this matter.”
