Felipe Melo has signed a new contract with Galatasaray, meaning Inter Milan have failed to land one of their main summer transfer targets.
Coach Roberto Mancini, who is still hoping to bring in Ivan Perisic from Wolfsburg, had earmarked the former Juventus midfielder as the player to add midfield stability.
Mancini worked with Melo at Galatasaray, who extended the player's contract until 2019 on Thursday.
A statement on the Turkish club's website revealed the details of the new agreement, which is worth €2.6 million a year.
However, it can be terminated either by club or player at the end of any of the next three seasons, which means Mancini will have to wait at least a year for a potential signing.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the Inter coach had focused on signing Melo without considering any alternatives for his position.
He is now expected to redouble his efforts to sign Perisic, even though Wolfsburg do not expect any offer from Milan to meet their expectations.
The Croatian is a different kind of player to Melo, and signing him would still leave only Gary Medel to hold the fort in the centre of midfield.
