Villarreal striker Nilmar looks set to stay in Spain at least until June 2012.
Sao Paulo have announced that a failure to agree personal terms had caused a possible move to Brazil to collapse.
Sao Paulo, looking to pair the forward with former Brazil team-mate Luis Fabiano for their 2012 campaign, had agreed a deal believed to be worth 8 million euros with Villarreal, and had been negotiating for over a week with the players’ representatives.
Lawyer Orlando da Hora had previously stated a deal was close, but sources close to the club affirmed that directors were growing ever-more impatient with the lack of progress.
This culminated on Thursday, when Sao Paulo director of football Adalberto Baptista explained that the Brazilians were pulling out of negotiations.
“Unfortunately there was no agreement with the player’s agent to ensure the negotiation’s success, which for now has led us to pull out of the deal,” the official told Globoesporte.
“The agent and the player have every right to look for the best deal possible when signing a new contract, but Sao Paulo could not break their salary policy, that has been in place for years.”
“This has brought the club a financial stability that has been invaluable in times like these, when so much is heard of delays and non-payments in salaries.”
Nilmar would have been the second high-profile signing of the summer break for Sao Paulo, who also added Jadson to their squad from Shakhtar Donetsk.
