Juve To Get Athirson On The Cheap
Sunday 18th February 2001
Fifa are set to rule that Juventus only have to pay Brazilian club Flamengo
�360,000 for defender Athirson - way short of the �10 million price-tag the
Rio side slapped on the player, according to reports in South America.
Carlos Martinez, the only South American on the Fifa commission for the
protection of players, leaked the information to Brazil newspaper Diario
Gaucho before the ruling will officially be made public on March 14.
"I voted that Flamengo should get at least �3 million compensation but the
commission decided they deserved less," he revealed.
The commission reportedly took no notice of the valuation the club had
placed on the player and worked out what they believed he was worth on the
basis of his salary, age and number of international appearances he has
made.
Flamengo vice-president Walter Oaquim will be incensed. He has already
stated that Juventus could forget about signing the player for �2 million -
the figure the Italian club had offered to pay.
"There's no chance of Athirson going to Juve for �2 million - the price Juve
are suggesting," he said before reminding the Turin club that Inter paid
over �18 million for Uruguay striker Alvario Recoba's player registration.
Oaquim has already threatened to take Fifa to court if he is not satisfied
with the fee the world governing body decides they are entitled.
Athirson, whose contract at Flamengo expired in January, was said to have
signed a deal that would have seen him move to Juventus for �2 million but
his transfer fee was originally brought before Fifa because, unbeknownst to
the player, his former agent, Marlene Mattos, had negotiated a new five year
deal with Flamengo before he signed for the Serie A giants.
Flamengo hoped they would be able to prevent the move - especially as they
claimed to have rejected several offers of �10 million for the defender -
and consequently went to Fifa.
The ruling also raises doubts about the transfer fee involved in
Ronaldinho's move to PSG.
Gremio expect to receive �30 million for the player - the price of his buy
out clause - but his lawyer, Sergio Neves, believes there is a case for
stating the club should only receive compensation based on the cost of his
annual salary, which is approximately �3 million.
Fifa may determine Ronaldinho's transfer fee on the same basis they
calculated Athirson's - taking into account his annual salary, his age and
the number of times he has played for Brazil.
