Liverpool seems to have missed out on signing Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder, after Galatasaray confirmed they had agreed a deal with the Inter Mlan midfielder.
Sneijder has been stalling on moving to the Turkish club ever since Inter accepted a bid about two weeks ago, with the talented playmaker pining for a move to the English Premier League, where Liverpool were thought to be the most keen.
However, it seems Sneijder's wage demands have put off any chances of a move to England, and Galatasaray have taken advantage by sealing the signing.
"The transfer of Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan has been agreed," Galatasaray said in a statement on their official website.
"The conditions of the deal will be made public and the player will sign the contract after health checks."
The future of Sneijder has been in limbo for quite a while now, after the 28-year-old refused to take a pay cut proposed by Inter Milan. The Italian club, in turn, froze the former Real Madrid and Ajax man from the team, with Sneijder not playing a single game for the club since September.
Inter president Massimo Moratti held talks with Sneijder last week to end the impasse, and that seems to have done the trick with the Dutchman agreeing a deal with Galatasaray.
"I met Sneijder," Moratti told the club's official website. "I wanted to have a chat with him, I thought we needed to.
"Have we made peace? I don't think there was ever a war in the first place, and certainly not with me personally.
"Did we chat to see if we were all moving in the same direction? Which one? It's a surprise...
"Is he close to a move to Galatasaray? Yes, I think so."
Sneijder had also indicated a decision on his future was imminent.
"I spoke a lot with president Moratti because we have a good relationship, we had a good talk, nothing more than that," he said.
"He said that it's looking like I'll be off to Galatasaray but there's still a slim chance I could stay? What the president said is exactly right.
"The Inter fans expect me to stay? Inter fans are the best around, I've won everything here and I'm happy here.
"Now I don't know whether I'll be saying, 'I am happy here' or 'I was happy here'. One of two things could happen, we'll see."
Along with Liverpool, Manchester United, who were close to buying Sneijder a couple of years back, and Tottenham were also reportedly interested, before Galatasaray swooped for one of the most consistent players in Europe over the past few years.
