West Ham United are yet to pay Eintracht Frankfurt the next instalment on the agreed price for striker Sebastien Haller, despite FIFA investigating the issue.
The German club complained to FIFA last month after West Ham defaulted on a £5.4m payment for the French striker, who agreed a £45m move last summer.
Reports in England stated that the Hammers agreed to pay 75% of that fee upfront with the rest coming in instalments.
However, they had failed to pay the latest of those, with Kicker reporting that it was due to be paid by May 15th.
According to their information, West Ham had contacted Frankfurt two days before the deadline to tell them they couldn’t pay and wanted the €6m instalment that was owed to be paid over several instalments instead.
Frankfurt refused and turned to FIFA, who gave the Hammers a deadline to comment on the issue. The newspaper stated, though, that the legal case was clear; they had to pay as the Coronavirus pandemic was no reason for late payment.
If West Ham refused to pay, they could face a transfer ban from football’s governing body, although reports in England stated that West Ham were confident they would avoid sanction.
The same report indicated sources at the club expected the payment to be processed soon but also made clear FIFA would punish repeat offenders harshly.
Frankfurter Rundschau cover the situation today and say West Ham have not paid the next instalment for Haller after failing to pay in May.
However, it is not clear whether they mean that the payment which was due in May still hasn’t been paid or that there was another payment due in August, which hasn’t been paid.
Either way, West Ham still haven’t paid Frankfurt the money they owe them, and this is causing some consternation for the Germans.
That’s because ‘money is tight’ at the club this summer as they’re spending on improving their stadium and invested heavily last summer too.
They had been relying on the money coming from West Ham but can’t, because the Hammers have missed at least one deadline, potentially two. In fact, they still owe them €24m.
Thus, Frankfurt have been forced to consider selling some of their star players to fund the transfers that they want to make, a situation that could be avoided somewhat if West Ham simply paid up what they owe.
