Atleti ‘must pay Gelson compensation’

Sporting CP and Atletico Madrid look set to go to court over the deal which took Gelson Martins to the Spanish club this summer.

The 23-year-old joined Atleti as a ‘free agent’, according to their website, despite Sporting insisting they were due a fee of €45m for the player.

Of Cape Verde heritage, Martins has made 125 first-team appearances for the Lisbon-based giants and has also won 19 caps for Portugal but in a separate development is also claiming €3.2m from his former club, say Record.

Previous Sporting president Sousa Cintra has claimed: “The player’s clause was €100m and we were only going to settle for a proposal of €45m, we have made that very clear.

“Atleti thought that we would accept anything – €15m or €17m, then finally offered €20m.

“I am sure we will not lose a court case, that is what my lawyers have told me, and now it is up to the new board of the club to decide what action to take.”

Tags Gelson Martins Sporting CP
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