Brazil

Moreno Rejects Shakhtar Move

In-demand striker Marcelo Moreno has turned down an opportunity to join Shakhtar Donetsk after the Ukrainian club agreed a fee with Cruzeiro for his services.

May 9, 2008 9:48:15 PM

Photo Gallery

Zoom

Marcelo Moreno Martins - Cruzeiro

Teams

Players

Marcelo Moreno

Shakhtar officials met with Cruzeiro president Alvimar de Oliveira Costa in Buenos Aires last week to make an offer of €7million for the Bolivian front-man - a fee that was seen as a fair price by the Brazilian club.

The two parties reconvened alongside Moreno and his agent in Belo Horizonte on Friday in order to try and thrash out personal terms for the twenty year old, but despite Shakhtar making him a sizable offer, Moreno elected to resist their overtures.

The Ukrainian club have made a habit of snapping up young talent from Brazil in recent years and currently have six active members of their first team squad that hail from the samba shores.

However, that wasn't enough to tempt Moreno, who is presumably holding out for offers from some of the more glamourous clubs, such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Napoli, that have been linked with his signature since the turn of the year.

Having turned down the move to Shakhtar, Moreno will fly out of Belo Horizonte later on Friday, bound for Salvador, where Cruzeiro will face his former club Vitória in their opening match of the Brazilian Championship.

Nick Dorrington