Filipe Luís admits he asked Atlético to “free me like they did with Gabi”

Filipe Luís admits an opportunity to sign for French champions Paris Saint-Germain arose at the end of the transfer window and that he did consider their offer, but it was too late in the summer and Atlético Madrid refused to sanction his departure.

“The opportunity to go to PSG came up and I asked Atlético to free me the same way they did with Gabi, but they understood that it wasn’t the same situation,” he told Brazilian outlet Globoesporte.

“There was just a little time left before the window closed and it was difficult to find a substitute,” Filipe continued. “When they spoke, [PSG] didn’t want to come out and state a price that Atlético weren’t going to pay and I accepted it.”

The 33-year-old had previously stated there were a lot of lies written about him asking to leave.

“[The media] said that I insisted [on leaving] and that’s a lie,” Filipe said. “I have a lot of history with Atlético and they tried to make my image worse.”

In the same interview, Filipe said that Lionel Messi is the best player in the world — not his Atlético teammate Antoine Griezmann — and claimed that when he isn’t nominated for awards, that same award loses credibility. Messi was overlooked for FIFA’s “The Best” award, as was Griezmann.

“It doesn’t matter is someone wins the Cup or the Champions League, the best is him,” he explained.