Brazilian striker Pato rejects Lazio move

Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has confirmed that Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato will not join the Italian capital football club this summer.

The 26-year-old is said to have been one of the targets of Marcelo Bielsa who quit as Lazio chief coach on Thursday, just two days after accepting the job, due to an alleged contract breach regarding new signings, reports Xinhua.

"I spoke with Pato and he said that he wanted to stay at Corinthians until December for personal reasons. Right now he doesn't want to leave Brazil," Tare was quoted as saying by Brazil's Globoesporte news portal.

Pato returned to Corinthians at the start of the month after ending a six-month loan spell at Chelsea.

The forward made just two appearances for the London club, scoring on his debut in a 4-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa in April.

Pato has not played for Corinthians since December 2013, having joined the club from AC Milan 11 months earlier in a deal worth 15 million euros ($16.5 million).

The Brazil international was then loaned out to Sao Paulo, where he netted 38 times in two seasons before joining Chelsea.

He has six months remaining on his Corinthians contract and is already free to sign a pre-contract with another club.

--IANS

pur/dg