The sudden decision by Saudi Arabia side Al-Nassr to make a u-turn on their decision to sign Nigeria international forward Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen has been revealed, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Verbally agreement was reached for the transfer of the 24 year old Nigerian to the Saudi Arabia side for a fee in excess of €60m and he underwent a medical after reaching agreement on personal terms worth €15m a season.
Al-Nassr made a sudden turn and rather went for Colombian forward Jhon Duran for around €75m, much more than what they agreed to pay for the Nigerian. They also agreed to pay him a yearly wage of €20m.
Explaining the situation that led to the collapse of the deal, Sky Sports Germany transfer expert Florian Plettenberg said it was largely due to the manner which the German side handled the negotiations, accusing them of underrating the Saudis.
“I think Bayer Leverkusen underestimated Al-Nassr a bit, because I think you need to approach these negotiations with Saudi clubs a little differently”, he explained.
“I also think that Al-Nassr made a really bad impression – the player did his medical, the time was invested, the player was missing from training and the last game – then to say ‘no we’d rather sign Jhon Durán’ [made a bad impression]. I think [Leverkusen] had too much confidence in all these verbal agreements and they’ll have learned from that, but again, Al-Nassr made a really bad impression.”
Daniel Martins
