Sporting once again find themselves in a financial pickle, and this time it’s a problem not all of their own making, report O Jogo on Saturday.
Selling Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United in the January window, the Lisbon club received a set fee of €55m, with more available in bonus payments. They held out for what they wanted for as long as possible, and with the Premier League club being equally stubborn, everything dragged on until the end of the market.
Manchester United agreed to pay the €55m in equal instalments over a four year period, but Sporting wanted the money in one go. With the English club refusing to do this, the next step was to find a financial institution who would take a small percentage fee, give them the full amount, and in practice take over the money owned from United.
They were in negotiations with a German bank, who were set to agree a fee between 3% and 5%.
However, Covid-19 then hit and now the German bank doesn’t want to expose themselves to that level of risk, and will only agree to forward half of the money.
This leaves Sporting looking for another solution to help their delicate finances.
