On Thursday, Sporting announced all their earning and spendings from the transfers made in the winter market. One of the most significant deals in this period was the purchase of Sebastian Coates from Sunderland.
As reported by Record today, the Lions ended up spending only €4.75m on the transfer. That’s slightly less than the €5m price fixed when Coates moved on a loan deal from Sunderland in January 2016.
Something that Sporting didn’t make clear is how the agent’s fee was paid. It’s something that normally is disclosed in these announcements, and this time its absence could even mean the percentage was left for Sunderland to pay.
It’s safe to say this was a pretty bad deal for Sunderland. Coates wasn’t having a great time in England, and loaning him to Sporting was a good decision, but the buying option was far too low.
After a very good year in Portugal, the local press had no doubts that Sporting would buy the player from Sunderland, and even the league champions Benfica were said to be interested.
If the price wasn’t fixed, Sunderland could have earned much more money from this business.
