Marquinhos mixed up in ‘wire tap’ row

Barcelona target Marquinhos has become mixed up in an extraordinary ‘wire tap’ row in Italy.

Serie A giants Roma have threatened legal action against a radio station that aired private conversations between their directors after it was alleged that phone calls were illegally intercepted.

A conversation between director of sport Walter Sabatini and general manager Claudio Fenucci was apparently recorded because one of the two men forgot to hang up the phone after giving an interview to the asromaradio.it staff.

Amongst the conversations it has emerged that central defender Marquinhos’ name was mentioned in relation to a proposed switch to the Spanish giants, with the directors letting slip the Brazilian [pictured, left] would be sold immediately if the offer reached €25m plus commission for his agents.

In the aftermath of the controversy, the radio station released its own statement.

“If a director leaves his phone on after a conversation and we hear him when he’s talking to someone else, it is certainly not our fault,” it read, and they have in turn threatened legal action against Roma.