How Inter missed out on having a Vidal-Nainggolan midfield pairing
Vidal starred for the Catalan side in their impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final yesterday. Ernesto Valverde's decision to start him did raise some eyebrows but he came up with a crucial performance.
We understand that Inter could have had Radja Nainggolan and Vidal in the same team today, if they weren't subjected to FFP restrictions on their wage budget.
After having missed out on Luka Modric, Inter had held talks with Arturo Vidal. The midfielder was very close to agreeing a deal of a wage of a 5.5 million euros salary and a contract of four years.
But by the time he could sign the deal, Barcelona came in and offered a wage of 7 million euros plus bonuses of 2 million euros. Because of how much the Spaniards offered, Inter had to abandon another chase because FFP restrictions would not have allowed them to offer Vidal that much.