Joao Palhinha's brother has suggested that Fulham have only 'postponed' the midfielder's transfer to Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese international travelled to Germany in the closing stages of the summer transfer window to seal a £55million move to the Bundesliga giants.
However, Fulham were not able to find a suitable replacement before the German window closed at 5pm on Friday and they cancelled the deal.
Palhinha was set to undergo a medical and take part in media duties in Bavaria before being called back to London.
In a post on Instagram, Palhinha's brother Goncalo said: 'What about Munich? They didn't kill the dream they just postponed it.
'Words of appreciation, recognition and thanks to the entire @fcbayern structure.
'If we alreaady knew how big the club was, the bigger it is after we left it regardless of what happened.
'The respect and affection of the people of the Bayern structure who accompanied us, marked us by the difference in respect, honesty and professionalism.'
Palhinha was not involved for Fulham in their 5-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
Despite his desperation to complete the move to Bayern, he is now set to remain with the Cottagers until January at least.
West Ham were also interested in signing the 28-year-old earlier in the summer, and Marco Silva believes his countryman will need support when he returns after the international break.
'It was a tough day for him, definitely, probably one of the toughest days of his life,' said the Fuham boss after the loss at the Etihad.
'He had the fantastic season last season and he’s always a player that gives 100% for the shirt, but he had a big chance to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and he was really close.
'You can imagine the impact that has
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