Wolves are taking on Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend – and in a parallel universe, Joao Moutinho may now be a Spurs alumnus.
It’s been a brilliant past few weeks for Wanderers, who pulled 12 points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over Ipswich Town at the weekend.
Wolves can adopt a fairly relaxed approach now, and there will be chances for some of the fringe players to get some minutes under their belts and perhaps prove a point to Vitor Pereira.
One wonders if Joao Moutinho may have a chance to tune in to watch his old club in action this weekend.
Moutinho is a Wolves icon, but some may not know that he actually came extremely close to signing for the club’s weekend opponents in the past.
Joao Moutinho nearly became a Tottenham player long before Wolves move
Moutinho proved to be a sensational addition for Wolves, and he played a big part in helping the club to qualify for the Europa League.
But some may not know that Moutinho’s career path may have actually been very different.
That’s because he was actually ‘minutes’ away from joining Tottenham all the way back in 2012.
He told Sky Sports in 2016: “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 report from the Guardian in 2012 claimed Moutinho was Andre Villas-Boas’ preferred target to replace Luka Modric, who had gone to Real Madrid.
Moutinho had been set to join Spurs for just over £20 million on deadline day that summer. But the player’s third party ownership presented one issue that could not be resolved before midnight.
The Guardian reported at the time: “A third party investor owns 15% of Moutinho’s economic rights, after deals were struck following the player’s €10m transfer from Sporting Lisbon to Porto in 2010. Although Porto paid for 100% of Moutinho’s rights, they sold 37.5% of them in October of that year to the investor for €4.2m before, in August 2011, buying back 22.5% of them.
“The investor’s 15% entitled him to a cut of the fee and, under Premier League rules, which forbid third party ownership, he had to be bought out at the Porto end before the deal could be ratified.”
Apparently, the clubs couldn’t an reach agreement, and it was suggested Porto went back on the previously signed deal sheet to demand a higher fee. Porto apparently tried to drive up the fee after Spurs had met Moutinho’s demands for higher wages.
Moutinho went on to become a Wolves icon
Six years later, Moutinho would finally end up on English shores, with Wolves landing him for just £5 million from AS Monaco.
For many Wolves fans today, Moutinho is one of the greatest players ever to wear the club’s shirt. Some ever believe he might be the outright best.
Given he was 31 at the time, fans did not really expect too much.
But the midfield maestro quickly set about shining in old gold. Former captain Conor Coady said he knew Moutinho was ‘special’ after his very first Wolves training session.
Moutinho regularly wowed fans with his ability to make the game look easy. His technical quality set him apart, and he and Ruben Neves were widely regarded as the best central midfield partnership outside the ‘traditional Big Six’ clubs.
And one of the more underappreciated aspects of Moutinho was that he was always available.
Across his five years at the club, he made 212 appearances – an outstanding return for a player of his age at the time.
And what’s more, Wolves boss Pereira admitted Moutinho is one of the best players he’s ever coached, which further underlines what a brilliant footballer he has been.