Real Mallorca claims Jonás Gutiérrez in breach of contract
By: j | July 10th, 2008
This looks like it’s going to be anything but a simple situation as Real Mallorca has made claims Jonás Gutiérrez in breach of contract. As they proceed to FIFA through appropriate legal channels they are demanding £12m (€15m) in compensation.
In signing with Newcastle, Jonás first invalidated his present contact citing FIFA’s Article 17 that notes a player between the age of twenty-three and twenty-eight, who has fulfilled three years of his contract, can move to another club for “footballing reasons”. Now this might seem “open and shut” however but citing the Webster ruling (Heart of Midlothian v Webster and Wigan Athletic, (2008, CAS Decisions: 2007/A/1298-1300) can lead to some trying moments and I dare say, if a formal complaint is filed, it is possible his arrival could take quite a bit of time and naturally a great deal of money. Given the fact the Court of Arbitration for Sport recently ruled the club should be paid the equivalent of the player’s salary for the remainder of his contract, this will naturally provide some solace to Newcastle the the £12m amount is too high. However it is quite possible that Real Mallorca will play this card in an effort to force Newcastle to sweeten the offer as they know a protracted legal dispute could keep Jonás on the sidelines. To complicate this further with Real Mallorca apparently on the auction block and Freddy Shepherd looking to tender an offer, I don’t expect this to be solved easily.
Updates to follow.
Category: Team News
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I think Newcastle and Atletico will find themselves in hot water this summer with their signings of Jonas and Assuncao respectively. Both broke their contracts under this ridiculous ruling, and I have a strong feeling FIFA is going to make the clubs pay compensation in some amount. I would be worried about transfer embargos though, like Roma’s from a few years back. It may never escalate to that, but it should always be in the back of executives minds.
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