Eduardo Ratinho to Lyon?

By: Inara | April 28th, 2007

This was going to be a post dedicated to the Lyon WAGs, but I’ll do that later.

Tasty rumors are circulating around the Stade de Gerland of a very possible transfer, much more likely than the 500 other names associated with Lyon in the past few weeks.

Ratinho

This kid could be OL’s first recruit.

Ratinho Corinthian fullback Eduardo Ratinho has been linked to Lyon. He’s highly rated, and at only 20 years old, he has a very good margin of progression. Not only can he also play on the wing and right midfield, but he also has talent with free kicks (and we all know how much Lyon loves those free kicks), he can dribble (!!!), and he’s Brazilian (which is also a must).

He was tracked by Lyon last summer, but he was judged to be too frail for Europe, despite his speed and technical qualities. I’m guessing he’s bulked up a bit more since then, though he still looks a little on the skinny side. But then again, so is Clerc. Maybe they could work out together.

Ratinho is said to be worth seven million Euros, which is a lot for an untested player who has just barely broken into Corinthians’s first team…but Lyon holds a trump card.

Remember Nilmar, the striker bought from Internacional three years ago? Lyon’s “Brazilian Angel” never adjusted to European football, and with the impending signing of Fred, Nilmar was loaned to the Corinthians so that Lyon could stay within the limit of non-EU players.

Corinthians eventually signed him for eight million Euros. But thanks to the financial mess caused by MSI (the company that owns Corinthians), Lyon weren’t paid Nilmar’s transfer fee, and after months of legal wrangling, FIFA ruled in Lyon’s favor. Except Corinthians still haven’t paid yet because they don’t have the money. So it’s quite possible that Corinthians will just give up Ratinho to Lyon in an effort to get out of their debt.

That really sucks for Corinthians. Not only were they forced by MSI to sell Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham, but now they might have to sell off one of their best young prospects because of Nilmar’s unpaid transfer hanging over their heads. MSI has truly screwed them over. Worse, while all this was happening, Nilmar sustained a knee injury that kept him out for almost a year.

It’s Corinthians versus The World.

But here’s the interesting thing. Ratinho is a right-back. If the rumors are true, it would be STUPID to buy a right back when Lyon already have two. That means that if Ratinho comes, either Anthony Reveillere or Francois Clerc will be leaving. I can’t imagine Lyon letting Clerc leave, so it may mean Reveillere.

I guess Paul Le Guen was even more convincing than I thought he’d be.