Recently promoted Ligue 1 side Monaco is wasting no time making its intentions known signing Porto’s midfield duo Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez for a combined €70m. Both players have agreed to five-year deals with the club.
Porto said Rodriguez was valued at €45m and Moutinho at €25m, with the deal “the biggest in Portuguese football history.”
Moutinho was reported to have been close to a move to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day last summer, and was said to have been targeted by Andre Villas-Boas again this summer.
He has played 55 times for Portugal and joined Porto, who secured their third consecutive league title on Sunday, from Sporting Lisbon in July 2010. Rodriguez has won 12 caps for Colombia.
Rodriguez has played 12 times for Colombia and won the Portuguese Golden Ball in 2012, an annual award given by newspaper A Bola to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in the Primeira Liga.
Monaco, who were bought last season by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, have said that they want to challenge for the Ligue 1 title next season, and they are probably the only club in France who can compete with champions Paris Saint-Germain’s financial power.
Claudio Ranieri’s side have also been heavily linked with a €60m move for Atletico Madrid striker Falcao.
If Monaco does land Falcao also, and qualifies for the Champions League, it will be interesting to see what Platini does, because there is no way they meet Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules.