Chelsea had a £25.7 million bid for Brazilian star forward Barbosa Almeida – also known as Gabigol – rejected by Santos according to Goal.
Instead Gabigol signed a contract extension with Brazilian giants Santos and is expected to remain at the club for at least another season.
Fenerbahce had also been closely linked with Gabigol and were keeping tabs on the Brazilian international despite having a bid rejected during the winter transfer window.
Barbosa did confirm the offer at the time on his Facebook account.
“I’ve been reading the latest news about my supposed transfer for the past couple of days, but today I decided to step up and give you my final call,” Barbosa stated on his official Facebook page.
“This weekend my manager came along to meet me alongside my family, and he presented us an offer from Fenerbahçe.
“Professionally, I feel quite valued to hear the interest from such a strong club as Fenerbahçe, where great players like Alex, Roberto Carlos, Deivid, and head coach Zico performed in high level. I would like to thank all Turkish fans as well who have sent me positive messages through social media!
“However, at the age of 19, today I feel that I haven’t accomplished my mission yet while representing Santos FC. I’ve been learning a lot here, that’s why I would like to stay and reward the intensive support from our fans!
Fenerbahce have a history of attracting Brazilian players as well as managers over the years including Zico, Alex de Souza and Roberto Carlos.
Gabigol is rated as one of the most exciting Brazilian prospect and Santos have a history of developing future stars such as Barcelona forward Neymar.
The Brazilian international has scored 22 times in 78 Brazilian Serie A matches for Santos – 54 times in 148 matches in all competitions.
Fenerbahce finished last season as runners-up and despite having a long history of Brazilian players do not currently have any in their current squad.
SEE ALSO:
Chelsea star Eden Hazard confirms he will play in Turkey
Arsenal fans react to Mesut Ozil display against France on social media
