In news coming through earlier today, Leeds United pulled out of interest for Porto striker Adrián López due to the wage demands of the Spaniard.
Various Portuguese media outlets such as Sapo Desporto and Noticias o Minuto, all referencing Portuguese daily O Jogo, reported that Leeds had baulked at the Spanish star’s salary demands.
Sapo Desporto simply said that “the salary the player earns is a problem” for the Whites with Noticias o Minuto stating that “Leeds asked about Adrián López” but ended up being “startled” by his demands.
What the Spaniard was asking for, according to both publications was a salary of €1.5 million per year, or around £25,500 per week.
The former two-cap Spanish international came up through the Real Oviedo set up, leaving the club for Deportiva La Coruña at the start of July 2006. He was with La Coruña until leaving on a free to Atletico Madrid at the start of July 2011. In those five years at La Coruña, he was sent out on loan to Alaves and Malaga.
The 29-year-old made 142 appearances for Los Rojiblancos, scoring 26 times and providing 20 assists. Such was his output for the Madrid side that Porto shelled out a transfer fee of around £9.3 million in mid July 2014. López hasn’t really hit his groove in Portugal, only appearing 27 times for Porto, where he has scored just the one goal and laid on four assists.
Sapo Desporto said that “the interest of the British team [Leeds] is quite marked“, but likely has been tempered somewhat by a salary demand that would crack open the wage structure at Elland Road.