Incoming Nottingham Forest midfielder Gustavo Scarpa has revealed he was first approached to play for Olympiacos.
Scarpa is due to sign for Nottingham Forest in the new year, once his contract with Brazilian giants Palmeiras expires. The 28-year-old attacking midfielder has been speaking about how he pushed for the deal, and the advice given to him by his current boss Abel Ferreira.
Having received the proposal to play for Olympiacos, Scarpa thought it might be a stepping stone to playing in a higher league. Like Forest, the Greek side are also owned by Evangelos Marinakis and are the top team in the country, regularly playing European football.
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But Scarpa was instead persuaded to turn down Greece and push for a move to England. "I had a conversation with him [Ferreira[, because, at first, the proposal was to play for Olympiacos, play in the Champions League," Scarpa told ESPN.
"They ended up not qualifying, and I called Abel. I wanted his help to facilitate the exit. Of course, my dream was not to play in Greece, but if I played well, I knew it could serve as a gateway to the bigger leagues.
"He said, 'Don't go to Greece, it's not your place. But you can go to England'. When the question of Nottingham came up directly, he said, 'There's nothing to do, it's the best league in the world'."
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