Bacary Sagna seems to be changing his story on his failed Leicester City transfer.
Leaving Manchester City last June when his contract ended, Sagna was free to sign with any club he chose, and towards the end of the summer window the Foxes came forward.
A move didn’t happen and Sagna only actually signed for a club on February 3rd, when he moved to Italian side Benevento.
In January, Sagna told France’s beIN about his near-move to the Foxes: “I was in touch with quite a few clubs, from March onwards. Then they just simply vanished, some for unknown reasons. A club I reached an agreement with, Leicester, also vanished towards the end of the transfer window.
“They contacted me, I’d pretty much sorted everything out and then I waited at home from 1pm til 7pm. Nothing. They remained evasive and then they made excuses, that I don’t doubt, but during that time I missed a few opportunities. Then a few clubs approached me, but it didn’t feel right.”
The former Arsenal player has an interview in Wednesday’s L’Equipe, and tells the story slightly differently: “Then there was Leicester. It was not London but it was not very far either. We had practically agreed. The last day of the transfer window, they made me spend seven hours on my couch. I didn’t have huge demands. I have never been greedy, as I read here or there. I had just made a counterproposal and I was waiting for them to come back to me.
“They had asked Manchester City for my medical file and everything was OK I just had to move and come… It was Leicester who called me, who made the offer. Then nothing. Then they apologised to me: the transfer of Adrien Silva would have put them in difficulty with regard to financial fair play. They nevertheless wanted me to go train there, without making any progress on the contractual terms. I refused.”
So it clearly was about money, then. But whether that actually had anything to do with Leicester City’s FFP position has got to be highly doubtful, unless Sagna’s demands were stratospheric.
