André Carrillo
1 - Sporting SAD recognises the right of the athlete André Carrillo to not want to renew his sports employment contract, which is valid until the 30th of June 2016. As it of course the case, Sporting SAD recognizes all of the player’s rights which are protected by law. In that same light, Sporting SAD is aware of its own rights and obligations, which are also enshrined in law. The same rights which offer protection against employees who act in bad faith, who are disloyal and who intentionally damage the club.
2 – Over the past year and a half, Sporting SAD has continuously approached the player André Carrillo and his respective representative with the objective of revising his employment contract.
3 – Various proposals were made by Sporting SAD, which were a reflection of its improving financial situation. Negotiation was always delayed until a time which would be considered more appropriate by the player and his representative.
4 – The successive proposals made by Sporting SAD were always rejected and no form of counter proposal was made, which when occurring successively over time, is evidence of the player acting in bad faith.
5 – This action led Sporting SAD to believe that negotiation would take place, with little more than the timing of his representative’s visits to Portugal needed, when in fact this reasoning was being used against Sporting SAD in order to use up the time of the current contract.
6 – In August this year, the player finally responded with the conditions that he wanted, which were immediately accepted by Sporting SAD and placed in writing to be signed.
7 – With the proposal’s conditions in writing, the player requested the presence of his agent, as he is allegedly not able to read contracts.
8 – Following this request, the player’s agent met with Sporting SAD, strangely without André Carrillo, and the terms of the proposed agreement made by the player and accepted by Sporting SAD were explained.
9 – When, legitimately and again in good faith, Sporting SAD believed that the signing of the agreement would take place, which detailed the exact requests of the player, the agent terminated the meeting because he felt that he needed to talk to the player.
10 – The agent returned with the contract to communicate that the player and his father wanted it to be analysed by lawyers.
11 – This occurred, with the consequential wasting of time, without any response being given to a proposal which had been made by the player himself.
12 – At that time, the player’s agent sent Sporting SAD an email indicating that a proposal would soon be received from a foreign club for the transfer of the player.
13 - Sporting SAD legitimately felt at that time that the player’s agent, and the player himself, were once again wasting time and affirmed that its intention was to renew its contract with the player and not to sell him. Sporting SAD further referred that if a proposal for a certain amount was made for the player, then it would be accepted.
14 – At that time, the player’s agent presented a proposal which honoured the conditions for the transfer of the player to an English club and Sporting SAD accepted it.
15 – Negotiations were aborted due to the fact that the player himself, paradoxically, refused the offer made by his own agent.
16 – These last facts occurred a few hours before the closing of the English transfer window.
17 – After the closure of the transfer window and the player’s participation in his national team, he returned and informed Sporting SAD that he no longer wanted to player for SCP and that he intended to leave for free.
18 - Sporting SAD, registering the disloyal conduct of its player, communicated to its technical team that he should be disciplined and that the issue was being forwarded to its legal department.
19 – At that time, the technical team requested a last attempt from Sporting SAD to reach an agreement. Sporting SAD accepted this and arranged for a meeting with the main coach and the player.
20 – At that meeting, in the presence of the Sporting SAD administration and the coach, the player stated that all he wanted at SCP was conditions that he felt were adequate and that he would renew his contract as soon as his agent was present.
21 – In a new series of negotiations, now with the agent present, the agent stated that the player did not have the courage to personally affirm to Sporting SAD and its coach that he no longer wanted to play for the club, reaffirming the position expressed earlier when he had returned from international duty. André Carrillo placidly listened to his agent’s statement.
22 – At that meeting, in light of the refusal of the player and his agent to make a counter offer, Sporting SAD made a final offer which was substantially improved. With the proposal considered to be highly attractive by the agent, Sporting SAD sent a copy to the agent. The agent then left Portugal to travel to England without giving any notice, allegedly for health reasons.
23 – That final offer was subsequently rejected.
24 – In yet another attempt to find a solution which would satisfy all parties, Sporting SAD presented another option to the player which would permit his transfer in January 2016 for an amount which was determined and agreed with the player, on the condition that Sporting SAD would be compensated if the player was transferred to another Portuguese club.
25 – The player informed that he was in agreement with this proposal and requested the document to read. However, he again went back on his word and refused to sign the document which had been negotiated.
26 – With all options to find a consensual solution apparently exhausted by systematic actions of bad faith by the player and/or his representative, Sporting SAD arranged for a final meeting at 16h30 on the 2nd of October.
27 – After the player’s confirmation to the coach at the end of morning training yesterday that he would be at the meeting with his agent, the meeting was subsequently cancelled by the agent, alleging that there was no chance whatsoever of reaching a solution.
28 – In this context, sporting SAD considers that the attitude of the player and his representative has dragged out the process until a time in which no alternative exists, thereby contributing to the unviability of a transfer to a third club and seriously damaging Sporting, while defrauding Sporting SAD’s legitimate expectations. In this light, the process outlined above should be carefully analysed in order to establish if responsibility can be attributed to the player and his agent.
29 – As such, a disciplinary process is underway and the player has been immediately suspended.
30 – Sporting SAD is now convinced that the sports project which the player wants to be a part of is not our one.
31 – The issue has been forwarded to the legal department in order to establish if responsibility can be attributed to to the player and his agent.
32 – This statement reflects the only official position taken by Sporting SAD at this time relative to this issue.
