Moutinho minutes from joining Spurs

SPURS vs MONACO

Speaking at the pre-game press conference ahead of tonight's opening UEFA Champions League fixture at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur, 30-year-old (31 next September) Monaco midfielder Joao Moutinho revealed that he was very close to signing for Spurs.

"It's true I was a few minutes from signing for Spurs. Here I am at Monaco and the focus is on putting in a performance to help us through to the next stage of the Champions League."

A deal was all agreed but his third party owners delayed signing the deal and eventually there wasn't enough time. While third party owners are not allowed to interfere with transfers, clearly they do. They have invested money in a player and they want to maximise their return, much in the way third party owners wanted Marcos Rojo to go to manchester United.