Man United target Ribeiro not for sale: Cruzeiro

Rio de Janeiro – Manchester United target Everton Ribeiro will remain with Brazilian champions Cruzeiro until at least next summer, the Belo Horizontefootball club said.

The 24-year-old has been linked with aneight million-euro move to Old Trafford in January, but Cruzeiro president Gilvan de Pinho Tavares said Sunday the playmaker was not for sale yet, reports Xinhua.

“We don’t have a single offer for Everton Ribeiro,” Tavares said. “The values that have been suggested in the press are not satisfactory because we think he is worth a lot more than that.”

Tavares’ comments come as the club fights to keep its squad together for next year’s Copa Libertadores, South America’s premier club competition.

“We know that it’s going to be difficult to hold on to him beyond the Copa Libertadores but before that we want to hang on to all of our players,” Tavares said.

Ribeiro was a key member of the Cruzeiro team that secured the Campeonato Brasileiro title with four matches to spare last month.

He scored seven goals and had 11 assists in 35 league starts.

Liverpool and Porto are also understood to be interested in the midfielder.