Premier League newcomersΒ Wolverhampton WanderersΒ could be made to pay more than they expected for Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
The stopper was one of the players who moved toΒ cancel his contract at Sporting CP at the end of last season following several unsavoury incidents, one of which left certain players injured after they were attacked by masked men at the club's training ground.
ο According to reports in Portugal, Sporting are about to re-open the case regarding the transfer of Rui Patricio to Wolves. Sporting demanded β¬54m at first, then it was reported β¬18m would suffice...
How much is he worth in today's market?! ο€ pic.twitter.com/D1qbN5LCDO
β Oddschanger (@Oddschanger) September 10, 2018
Patricio, along with other first team stars including Gelson Martins, cited safety concerns as the cause of his wanting to back out of his deal with the club.
A temporary board took charge of Patricio's move to England. And, according to Portuguese newspaper Record (viaΒ Sport Witness), that same board filed a complaint to FIFA which states that the Premier League side are obliged to pay them β¬54m for the keeper.
Sporting now have a new president in Frederico Vanadas, who has reportedly reopened the process and has set things in place to come up with new agreements for all the players who had their contracts terminated.
Wolves had attempted to pay β¬18m for Patricio during the summer, but Sporting were more keen on netting β¬54m for the player, while former president Bruno de Carvalho saw to it that the proposed deal was scuppered.
The report claims the reason for theΒ Portuguese side demand forΒ β¬54m is a combination of aΒ β¬45m release clause Patricio's old Sporting CP contract, plus another β¬9m to cover the wages for the two years left on the deal.
Meanwhile,Β βAtletico Madrid are set to undergo a similar process over the transfer of Patricio's teammateΒ Martins, as Sporting CP seek compensation of aroundΒ β¬45m.