Nottingham Forest BLOCKED In Move for Former Star and Argentina Wonderkid

Forest Move for Former Star Player Blocked!

Nottingham Forest had made a move for former midfield star Danilo and Argentine wonderkid Alvaro Montoya, but the double-deal has been sensationally blocked by the Rio de Janeiro justice system due to debts owed by Botafogo and American owner John Textor, according to various reports from Brazil this morning.

An internal petition was held with Botafogo's social association amid growing tensions over the management of the club and Textor himself, who was surrounded with controversy over the summer for his apparent role in Crystal Palace's demotion to the UEFA Europa Conference League.

This is completely ABSURD.

Botafogo almost SOLD Danilo and Montoro to Nottingham Forest for €35 million. Somebody has to stop Textor from doing these TERRIBLE sales. Luckily, someone did. A court STOPPED and halted the club from selling any player. https://t.co/ztRJlAdxeO

— Glorious Botafogo (@GloriousBotaYT) January 29, 2026

As such, Botafogo as a business have been been banned from selling any assets (players) meaning Nottingham Forest's surprise double-bid will likely not go ahead.

Due to the nature of debts owed by Botafogo, a combined package from Forest worth around £32m would have only been worht around £7m to the selling Brazilian club, meaning a double sale for two of the club's key players would have had almost no fiscal benefit.

What Was the Planned Deal?

John Textor was reportedly the sole driving force behind negotiations over the departures of Montoya and Danilo, and under him these advanced to the stage where specific fees had been agreed by all parties. Danilo was to be sold for €19m and Montoya for €14m for a total package of around €33m to take both players to Nottingham Forest.

Danilo seria negociado por 19 milhões de euros para o Nottingham Forest, enquanto a transação de Montoro giraria em torno de 14 milhões de euros.

No entanto, como o Botafogo tem uma dívida de 20 milhões de euros com o clube inglês, apenas 13 milhões de euros entrariam… pic.twitter.com/JmTcQYtsV4

— Futmais | Menino Fut (@futtmais) January 29, 2026

However, Botafogo currently owe Nottingham Forest around €20m of debt themselves stemming from previous player purchases including Danilo himself, who joined Botafogo in the summer window of 2025. As a result of this, the net gain for Botafogo would have only been around €13m, leaving little-to-no incentive for the club to lose two of their key players.

Reports suggest that Textor handles talks directly with Nottingham Forest's owner, Evangelos Marinakis, with whom he has a positive relationship. As of the 29th of January, the double-deal was reportedly close to completion, but challenges were raised internally at Botafogo over the move as it neared the end point of negotiations - directors of the club viewed the sale of Danilo and Montoya (two vital players to their recent success, such as their 2025 Copa Libertadores win) as poorly timed and damaging to the stability of Gustavo Anselmi's side.