Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Bolton leave Portsmouth red faced and empty handed
Much like a homeowner who decided to hold out for a higher offer and now finds himself stuck in a credit crunch, negative equity nightmare, Premier League side Portsmouth have made a highly regrettable financial faux pas.
Amidst the crazy antics of the January transfer window, Portsmouth decided to reject a 3.5 million pounds bid for midfielder Sean Davis from rivals Bolton Wanderers. On Wednesday he joined Gary Megson’s side for free.
Liverpool losing Steve McManaman to Real Madrid for free in 1999 when he would have certainly commanded a big-money transfer in the two years leading up to his exit, springs to mind as another high profile example.
Let us know if you can think of any others.
I could say this is a case of poor management, but sometimes clubs have to refuse a mid season transfer as there’s no time left to find a good replacement. I can understand you hang on to your player if this is the case.