Wolverhampton Wanderers of England’s recuperating goalkeeper, Carl Onuoha Ikeme’s successor in the team has put the English Premier League newcomers in trouble, as his former club, Sporting Lisbon of Portugal are heading to FIFA over unpaid fees for the net minder.
While Ikeme battled leukaemia in hospital, Wolves quickly moved to get Rui Patricio from Sporting Lisbon, but the club claim they are still being owed £48.5m from the deal and have asked FIFA to ban the EPL side from all transfer activity for two windows.
In place of Ikeme, Patricio joined Wolves on a four-year deal in June after opting to break his Lisbon contract, following an attack on players and staff by masked supporters at the club’s training ground.
The 30-year-old was one of a number of players, including William Carvalho, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes, to cancel their contracts at Sporting – citing ‘just cause’ in relation to the lack of safety and protection highlighted by the attack.
Ikeme’s club had been reported to be willing to pay £18m for the Portugal international before he opted to terminate his contract, allowing him to join the English club for free.
However, Sporting could yet be owed a compensation fee to be paid by Ikeme’s club, if the case goes to a FIFA tribunal.
On Thursday, the Portuguese media published a 63-page dossier sent to FIFA by Sporting detailing the Lisbon-based club’s demands, including a request for the global body to ban Patricio from playing for six months.
