French Ligue 1
FIFA STEPS INTO EMILIANO SALA TRANSFER PAYMENT
FIFA is investigating the transfer payment for Emiliano Sala after Nantes made a claim against Cardiff City according to a report from BBC.
Premier League side Cardiff were due to pay the first of three instalments for the £15m striker on Wednesday.
Argentine Sala, the Bluebirds’ record signing, died aged 28 in a plane crash in the English Channel on 21 January.
“We can confirm we have received a claim. We are looking into the matter,” said a spokesman for world football’s governing body.
As Sala’s move was an international transfer, it had to go through Fifa’s mandatory system.
The International Transfer Certificate (ITC) was completed but there were issues with the separate matter of Premier League registration.
The ITC was registered with the Football Association of Wales and confirmed Sala as a Cardiff player, which meant the Welsh club were liable to pay Nantes the transfer fee.
A Cardiff spokesman said: “Cardiff City remains committed to ensuring fairness and accountability with respect to the agreement between Cardiff City and FC Nantes, but first and foremost the relevant authorities must be allowed to determine the facts surrounding this tragedy.
“It is inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
Cardiff were due to make the first of three instalments on 20 February, but they agreed with French Lige 1 side Nantes to extend the deadline by a week.
Nantes wrote to Cardiff on 5 February requesting the first instalment.
But Cardiff said they were withholding payment until crash investigations were complete and they were satisfied about “anomalies” around the deal.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman said Cardiff will be “honourable” with Nantes if they are contractually obliged to pay.
French side Bordeaux are due 50% of his fee because of a sell-on clause when they sold Sala to Nantes in 2015.
His body was recovered from the plane wreckage but pilot David Ibbotson remains missing.
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
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After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
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The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
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