"As long as he doesn't end up at UAE Team Emirates..." - Patrick Lefevere on potential Paul Seixas transfer; and how Matxin got in the way of potential Juan Ayuso signing

Last week Patrick Lefevere talked about how he wanted to have signed Paul Seixas before he became a big international name. This week he reveals that Soudal - Quick-Step was interested in signing Juan Ayuso at the end of 2024, but the transfer terms were not the same as last year. Furthermore, he criticized the agents' role in current cycling and how UAE Team Emirates - XRG might sign Paul Seixas.

The news that the Frenchman has interest from the Emirati team was reported by Het Laatste Nieuws earlier this month and this is set to be a long battle on the negotiating table because his contract still lasts until the end of 2027. The top teams are looking to secure the rider who is attracting the most attention out of the youngsters in the current peloton.

The former manager of Soudal - Quick-Step holds a particular grudge against the Emirati team, and does not hide it. “It doesn't matter to me, as long as he doesn't end up at UAE Team Emirates".

"Excuse the word – or not – but as Sports Manager, Matxin is getting a bit too horny. Signing Seixas when you already have Pogacar is ostentatious behavior," Lefevere said in his weekly Het Nieuwsblad column.

That would make no difference to Emirates' stance on the matter, the talent that is being displayed by the 19-year old is almost an unique story in the sport and any team would want him. Decathlon CMA CGM Team have the base and potentially the money to keep him on board; whilst UAE is the team that has the most money and ability to make such a signing, most likely.

This is, despite having Tadej Pogacar and currently having the strongest and most successful team in the peloton. It is a matter of securing the 'next Pogacar' as some call it.

"You can have the most money in the entire World Tour, but that comes with a certain responsibility and ethics. He was sidelined at Saunier-Duval when I brought him on board at Quick Step as a scout. The problem is that he is only grateful to me in words, until I ask for a favor in return," Lefevere continues on Matxin specifically, revealing another potential signing the Belgian had interest in which didn't materialize in the end.

"I inquired with him about Ayuso’s transfer terms when he was at a dead end at UAE. That was non-negotiable; the buyout clause was 28 million euros. Just under a year later, Ayuso is at Lidl-Trek. It is quite possible that they had deeper pockets than I did, but I am quite certain that they didn't pay 28 million either," he argues logically. "A little more goodwill towards me would have been to Matxin's credit.”

However he is also aware that the money being thrown around is also in part due to the riders' agents, who work on this so as to make their own. “They play the game so much more aggressively than before. They are now agencies, with five or six representatives who all want to score and are constantly marketing their riders. Perhaps journalists are looking harder for the scoop, but it all gets leaked to drive up the price as well".

"Shooting wildly around like Clint Eastwood, for a few dollars more. Which agent is still concerned with career planning for his rider? It is terrible when a nineteen-year-old rider believes he can become Pogacar’s successor at UAE. Pogacar himself is barely 27. An agent who tries to sell that story to his rider deserves a professional ban," Lefevere concluded.