Ezequiel Garay’s former agent claims Benfica rejected €20m from Bayern Munich for the Valencia defender two years ago, prompting Real Madrid’s fury.
Ricardo Schlieper was Garay’s agent when the centre-back left Racing Santander for Madrid in 2008 and again during the Argentine’s move to Benfica three years later.
However, Madrid have taken Benfica to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over allegations the Portuguese side accepted Zenit St Petersburg’s offer of €6m over Bayern’s €20m, with Los Blancos in line for 40 percent of any such sale.
“In the summer of 2014, during the World Cup in Brazil, we received an offer from Bayern Munich of €20m that they put on Benfica’s table,” the representative told Marca.
“For the player, it was also an interesting economic proposition, better than Zenit’s.
“I don’t think Bayern’s offer reached Garay or that he found out about it. The contrary would surprise me.
“His market value was much higher than the €6m paid by Zenit. I found it surprising that he went there.
“It’s normal that Madrid complained to CAS. His market price was far superior.
“To me and many people in football, I could smell something bad from the beginning.
“We saw something strange. There’s no way of understanding that they accepted that offer.
“Bayern weren’t the only team interested. Another big team, Manchester United, asked several times for him, but ultimately [a deal] didn’t materialise.
“It had been said that I was involved with CAS, but it didn’t even name me because I was no longer his agent.
“By the time the transfer to Zenit happened, I wasn’t with Garay. He left me when I was at Benfica.”
