Sporting CP looking for €100 million from completed Gelson Martins transfer

Portuguese paper A Bola have a report out which suggests that Sporting Clube de Portugal are looking for compensation to the tune of €100 million for Gelson Martins, who completed a transfer to Atlético Madrid this week.

The player cancelled his contract on June 11 — along with several teammates — due to the shambles at the Portuguese club, and he started to negotiate with Atlético soon afterwards. Los rojiblancos tried to reach an agreement that suited everyone and offered €15 million at first with further add-ons that took the deal €25 million. They eventually reached €32 million but wouldn’t go any higher, while Sporting wanted €60 million. The Liga NOS giants eventually lowered their demands to €40 million, but Atlético would not match that number. This was when Gelson, who was eager to move, arrived in Madrid and decided he would stay until a deal was done.

However, A Bola say the week before Martins cancelled his contract his release clause went up, which corresponded to a trigger in his contract which sent his wages from €1.8 million to €2.2 million. As such, they say the club will take the case to FIFA and request €100 million, which matches that alleged release clause.

In the meantime, Gelson has arrived on (what is for now) a free transfer and is already training in Madrid. Don’t expect this story to die down soon, though, especially if Sporting do take this to FIFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.