CAS ruling on Lenglet case insists clubs pay sell-on fee

By: Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press Posted: 5:59 AM CDT Thursday, Apr. 16, 2020 Last Modified: 5:59 AM CDT Thursday, Apr. 16, 2020

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GENEVA - In a case involving France defender Clément Lenglet, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday that soccer clubs must pay a sell-on fee when transferring a player whose release clause was activated.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2020 (2332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GENEVA – In a case involving France defender Clément Lenglet, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Thursday that soccer clubs must pay a sell-on fee when transferring a player whose release clause was activated.

The CAS judgment awarded French club Nancy more than 3.7 million euros ($4 million) it was due from Sevilla for the Spanish club’s sale of Lenglet to Barcelona in 2018.

The CAS verdict upheld a FIFA ruling last year.

Barcelona's Clement Lenglet celebrates after scoring during La Liga soccer match between Betis and Barcelona at the Benito Villamarin stadium in Seville, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Miguel Morenatti)

The court’s judgment came 10 years after a similar dispute in which a French club failed to get a sell-on fee when its former player subsequently left Sevilla to join Barcelona.

In the Lenglet case, Nancy said it sold him to Sevilla for 5 million euros ($5.4 million) in January 2017 with a clause to get 12% of the profit from a future sale. Barcelona activated a release clause in Lenglet’s contract to buy him for 35 million euros ($38.1 million) after 18 months at Sevilla.

Sevilla refused to pay Nancy, arguing Lenglet’s move to Barcelona was technically a release of the player rather than a transfer.

“The CAS panel confirmed that it was the real and common intention of the parties to transfer Clément Lenglet,” the court said in a statement.

Sevilla lost the Lenglet case after having won a previous dispute involving French club Lens and Mali midfielder Seydou Keita.

Keita joined Barcelona in 2008 after terminating his contract with Sevilla. A CAS panel in 201O said Keita’s former club was not entitled to a share of the 14 million euros ($15.2 million) indemnity that Barcelona agreed to pay Sevilla.

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