Arsenal’s departing sporting director Edu Gaspar once blocked a player from joining rivals Tottenham by promising him higher wages – but ultimately didn’t stick to his word.
In January 2013, before the emergence of Harry Kane, Spurs were eager to sign Peruvian icon Paolo Guerrero. The striker at the time was plying his trade with Brazilian giants Corinthians but was eyeing a return to European football, having played in the Bundesliga for 12 years beforehand.
He was keen to join Tottenham, who had made him an offer, until Corinthians’ then-director of football and Arsenal legend Edu blocked the transfer. The Brazilian did not want Peru’s all-time highest goalscorer to join his former rivals and offered Guerrero an improved contract, one which would make him the “highest paid footballer in South America”.
Guerrero claims Edu did not fulfil his promise over a new deal with vastly improved wages. The forward, now 40 and playing for Alianza Lima, eventually left Corinthians in 2015, but for rivals Flamengo instead of getting his big move to the Premier League.
Guerrero told the D&T programme: “When I arrived at Corinthians, I said to myself: ‘I win the Club World Cup and I’ll go back’ [to Europe]. Did I have opportunities to return to Europe? Many, but Corinthians didn’t want to sell me or didn’t want to negotiate. The last offer came from Tottenham, which was a loan-purchase option.
“I went with the proposal to talk to Edu, who is now Arsenal’s director, and I said ‘I have this, please’. His response was: ‘Do you want the crooked thing to kill me, Paolo? Rest assured that here you will be the highest paid footballer in South America’.
“He didn’t comply. I didn’t renew with Corinthians because the proposal they made me wasn’t within what I think I deserved. I believed that because I was Peruvian, they were not valuing me.”
Ex-Bayern Munich star Guerrero has not yet returned to Europe since leaving Hamburg in 2012, but remains a South American football legend, racking up an impressive 122 caps for Peru. After failing to land Guerrero, Spurs turned their attention to signing Roberto Soldado, though the Spaniard’s struggles to adapt to the English game paved the way for Kane’s rise to stardom in 2014.
