Clément Lenglet’s transfer from Sevilla to Barcelona is to head to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over unpaid fees, reports Estadio Deportivo.
The Frenchman joined Barcelona last summer, with the Catalan giants paying €32m to sign him from Sevilla.
He’s since become a key player at the Camp Nou, forming a partnership with Gerard Piqué and earning positive reviews from the Barça faithful.
However, while Barcelona are in the clear over the deal, with Lenglet having bought out his contract to make the move via a buyout clause, Sevilla are still in a dispute with the defender’s former club Nancy.
Estadio Deportivo explains that when Lenglet joined Sevilla for just under €5m in 2016, part of the deal was that Nancy would receive 12% of profit on any future transfer fee.
Their excuse is that, as Lenglet bought out his contract, he was not technically transferred directly to Barcelona from Sevilla, so the sell-on clause doesn’t count.
FIFA have already ruled that Sevilla should pay the fee, but they’re refusing to do so, and the deal has now been referred to CAS instead.
The La Liga club plans to cite the precedent set by Seydou Keita’s move to Barcelona back in 2008, a year after he had joined Sevilla.
They were expected to pay Lens in that instance as well, with FIFA determining in the French side’s favour.
However, CAS later overturned that decision and ruled in Sevilla’s favour, and their hope is there will be a similar outcome in this case.
