Rafinha Alcantara’s father and agent Mazinho has said that they cannot afford to wait for Inter any longer and are now considering other options for the player’s future.

The Brazilian made 17 appearances on loan for the Nerazzurri in the second half of the 2017-18 season and impressed everybody during his time in Serie A, but Inter’s decision not to exercise their €35 million option to buy for the player means that he has now returned to parent club Barcelona.

In an interview with FcInterNews.it on Saturday, former Fiorentina and Valencia midfielder Mazinho spoke of his son’s disappointment at not being able to stay at Inter but insisted that they are now considering other options for the 2018-19 season.

“There’s no doubt that he wanted to remain with Inter,” he said, “because he was happy there, in a united group. However it didn’t happen and now he’ll work with Barca again.

“Inter didn’t exercise their option to buy and we cannot wait around for them. We’re working to sort out the player’s future and we can’t give priority to Inter, not least because there are several clubs interested in him.

“Rafinha did very well at Inter and I’m not surprised the fans are so fond of him. He wanted to stay but unfortunately it hasn’t happened. That’s football, things can change very quickly.

“Sometimes things don’t go as you expect them to and you have to move forwards.”

Mazinho also added that neither he or his son had been contacted by Inter since the end of the season, but didn’t exclude that the Nerazzurri could yet come back in for Rafinha this summer.

“They haven’t said anything to us or to Barcelona, nothing. I’ve learned about the developments regarding my son thanks to you, reading the papers.

“Could Inter come back in for him? You need to ask them, I can’t answer this question.”