It’s chaos at the Estádio José Alvalade
Sporting Lisbon, or as they’re actually called, Sporting Clube de Portugal, are in crisis. It all stems from the club failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League, which didn’t go down well with the fans.
Around 50 masked hooligans attacked Sporting players at their training ground last month, leaving Bas Dost with a bloodied head.
The players have since formed a long line outside the exit door, desperate for a move.
Goalkeeper Rui Patricio recently contacted the club to inform them that he wanted to terminate his contract after the club president, Bruno de Carvalho halted his impending £15.8m move to Wolves.
De Carvalho’s involvement in the breakdown of that transfer angered Gestifute, the agency headed by Jorge Mendes, who has numerous Portuguese based players on his books and a strong relationship with Wolves.
Patricio recently said: “I was the victim of physical and psychological violence, so in order to preserve my personal and professional dignity, I wish to end the contract that ties me to Sporting.”
Since that scandal, three more Sporting players have reportedly decided to follow suit. The Mirror report that William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes and Gelson Martins have all requested that their contracts be terminated too.
All three players have been included in Portugal’s World Cup squad, and are putting Sporting under pressure to release them from their duties before Thursday’s deadline. The trio have sent letters to the club as well as the Portuguese federation.
There has been interest from the Premier League in William Carvalho for a while. It’s increasingly likely that we will see him make that move this year.
