‘John Textor told us he’d been approached by a Twitter account’ – Rafael reveals story behind Thiago Almada’s signing | OneFootball

Thiago Almada (23) has quickly settled into life at Olympique Lyonnais after moving from sister club Botafogo on loan in January.

The midfielder who was part of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad has become a regular name in Paulo Fonseca’s Lyon team sheet. Almada already has two goals to his name, the first coming against Le Havre AC, while the second came last week from a free kick in the club’s Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United.

Almada looks to be an exceptional talent, which makes the story of his arrival at Botafogo all the more interesting, as according to Rafael, a former teammate of Almada’s in Brazil, it was a unique scenario that brought the midfielder to the attention of Botafogo’s scouts.

Former Manchester United fullback reveals secret behind Thiago Almada’s arrival

The former Manchester United and Lyon fullback tells L’Équipe that it was Botafogo and Lyon owner John Textor who was responsible for Almada’s arrival from Atlanta United “Textor told us that he had been approached on the internet by a Twitter user. He forwarded the information to the scouts, and this is the result. The boss, he’s like that, he goes for it [laughs].”

GFFN | Nick Hartland