Lucas Ribeiro Costa has requested to terminate his contract with Mamelodi Sundowns FC, and has referred the matter to the FIFA Football Tribunal.
Ribeiro, 26, has been absent from Sundowns training and was linked with a move to Qatar SC, while Fluminense were also said to be after his services – however a deal never materialised.
Insiders told this publication that the Qatari side had sent Sundowns “a particularly generous transfer offer” for the Brazilian attacking midfielder, who wanted to join the Qatari club.
But sources claim Sundowns attempted to “drive up the price endlessly and in an unreasonable manner, without any regard for the player’s personal interests”, which made the deal impossible.
The player, together with his agency, have therefor decided to take the matter to the FIFA Tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and possibly in any competent State Court –
Ribeiro will be represented in this dispute by “Dupont-Hissel” law firm, the same firm who are currently handling the high-profile ‘Diarra Ruling’.
In a document in possession of iDiski Times, the player argues that it is within his right to terminate his contract with Sundowns, without a so-called “just cause” – referring to the compensation to be paid to the club – and that a transfer should presumably be limited to the residual value of the contract, with a possible further reduction or increase on the basis of the national law.
“I believe that I have just cause to terminate my contract with Mamelodi Sundowns FC, which I will explain before the FIFA Football Tribunal,” Costa argues via the document in possession of this publication.
“However, in any event, following the Diarra ruling by the CJEU, there is no doubt that the dispute between me and my former club will not prevent me from continuing my career with peace of mind: indeed, following its own regulations (as amended in light of the Diarra judgement), FIFA will see to it that the international transfer certificate be immediately delivered upon request by my future employer.
“I have received expressions of interest from various clubs, including some within the European Union, and I will now consider what is best for the future of my career in order to make the right choice, i.e. the one that will allow me to flourish as a sportsman and try to provide for the future of my family, knowing that a player’s career is short and unpredictable.”
“As a reminder, following the Diarra ruling, my next employer will not be involved in the dispute between me and Mamelodi Sundowns FC, neither from a disciplinary perspective nor financially.”
The Diarra ruling goes back to case involving former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, who was involved in a dispute with Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014 and left the Russian club, leading to a dispute in the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC).
FIFPRO, the International Federation of Professional Footballers, supported Diarra in the case and state: “Sections of the FIFA regulations prevented him from taking up a new contract offer in Belgium. At the age of 29, at the peak of his career, the Frenchman spent a year without a club.
“According to Diarra, the regulations unfairly interrupted and negatively impacted his career. The ECJ ruled in Diarra’s favour in the sense that the judges confirmed that the FIFA rules are contrary to EU laws, forcing FIFA to adapt their regulations.”
Costa, who has three years left on his current contract wit Sundowns, has represented Masandawana 88 times, scoring 37 goals and setting up 23 more. He was named PSL Footballer of the Season and also won the Betway Premiership Golden Boot last campaign, before staring at the recent FIFA Club World Cup, where his goal against Borussia Dortmund was voted Goal of the Tournament.
