City Send Scout To See Copa Liberatodores Winner In Action As Club Eye Fernandinho’s Successor

City Send Scout To See Copa Liberatodores Winner In Action As Club Eye Fernandinho’s Successor

Manchester City and Benfica both had scouts in attendance to see Patrick de Paula in action as he helped his side Palmeiras lift the Copa Libertadores title on Saturday, according to reports in Brazil.

A goal from Breno Lopes deep into added time secured the Brazilian’s their second South American title, beating Santos 1-0 in the Maracana Stadium.

De Paula came on as a substitute midway through the second half with the score at 0-0 and it will be interesting to see whether he has done enough to convince City to make a move for him in the summer.


The 21-year-old is a holding midfielder by trade, making it very likely that he is being considered as a potential replacement for Fernandinho. City’s captain is currently expected to leave the Etihad when his current contract expires at the end of the season.

Only enquiries have been made for De Paula so far, with neither City nor Benfica having decided on whether to make a formal bid yet.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.