Thiago was wanted by PSG, says Liverpool star's father - but they got brother Rafinha instead

Paris Saint-Germain wanted to sign Thiago before he moved to Liverpool, the player’s father has said, but the Ligue 1 side signed his brother Rafinha instead.

PSG brought Rafinha in from Barcelona at the end of the summer transfer window after seeing Thiago opt to leave Bayern Munich for Liverpool.

Thiago’s move dragged on throughout the summer but by the time PSG got in touch, an agreement was already in place to take him to Anfield.

“I had spoken with [PSG director] Leonardo some time ago, but it was for Thiago,” Mazinho, father of Thiago and Rafinha, told France Football.

“Leonardo wanted to sign him for PSG, but Thiago had already made a deal with Liverpool.

“We then talked about Rafa, but he was not part of Leonardo's plans at that time. I think he must have thought about it, that he saw the nature of the opportunity and it would be a blow to sign him.

“When he started talking again, Leonardo had changed his mind. And it all sped up on the last day. It was Monday that we had to work hard to convince both clubs.

“We were scared, but thank God, five or six hours before the deadline, we made a deal. Leonardo wanted Thiago, he got Rafinha. And for Rafa, it was a dream to join such a club.”

Rafinha is bedding in at PSG, clocking up his fifth appearance for the club in Sunday’s 3-0 away win at Nantes in Ligue 1.

His father doesn’t think he will have any difficulty getting used to life under Thomas Tuchel, with there plenty of similarities between PSG and former club Barca.

“PSG often play in a 4-3-3 that looks like Barca's. Rafa knows a lot of players like Neymar, but also [Mauro] Icardi, [Pablo] Sarabia. It's not going to be hard to fit in.

“He will have to understand the dynamics that the coach wants, but I'm not worried. He is tactically well prepared and is always trying to figure out what the manager wants. He can play three places in the middle, and three places in front. He did it at Barca, he was trained like this.”