The contentious relationship between Manchester City and Der Spiegel escalated on Friday with the football club issuing a strongly worded statement condemning the German magazine. Der Spiegel alleges that City made an irregular payment of £200,000 to Emeka Obasi, the agent of Jadon Sancho, in connection to the transaction that brought the English winger, then a teenager, to the club from Watford FC in 2015.
Jadon Sancho would go on to sign his first senior team contract with Borussia Dortmund in 2017. The German outlet claims to have seen documents from whistle blowing website Football Leaks that show City paid Obasi as part of a scouting contract in order to find players in south and central America.
Football Association rules say players cannot be represented by an agent until they turn age 16, and Sancho was just 14 at the time. The report claims that this £200,000 payment was made as a method of circumventing FIFA rules that prevent agents from collecting fees in transfer deals that involve minors.
City responded on Friday night by saying the article was an “organized and clear attempt to damage the club’s reputation.”
Here is the full MCFC statement:
In relation to the story published this evening by Der Spiegel, and contrary to their assertion that Manchester City FC did not respond to their query – please see below statement which was sent to them earlier this week.
You will have seen this statement before. However, it is important to use it in full, as each element is material, as we pointed out to Der Spiegel in our reply.
“We will not be providing any comment on out of context materials purported to have been hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people. The attempt to damage the Club’s reputation is organized and clear.”
City and Der Spiegel have been at odds for some time as last year the publication put forth a series of articles alleging the club flagrantly breached Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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