By David Gold
September 5 – Athletic Bilbao President Josu Urrutia has indicated that the Basque club could sue German giants Bayern Munich over the signing of Javi Martínez.
Martínez (pictured above, centre) left Bilbao for Bayern this week, but the transfer was held up by complications.
The midfielder had a release clause in his contract but it had to be activated by the player, rather than a club.
This meant Bayern had to pay Martínez rather than Bilbao to sign him, but Spanish tax laws would have meant the German team could have incurred significant extra charges on top of the €40 million (£32 million/$50 million) buyout clause.
However, Martínez travelled to Munich last Tuesday (August 28) and underwent a medical, a day before Bayern paid the buyout clause.
Urrutia, therefore, said he would consider legal options available because the player underwent a medical without the Spanish club’s permission.
“Athletic are assessing whether they will take action against Bayern,” he said.
“The player was under contract, during the protection period established by FIFA.
“The player underwent a medical with the German club without Athletic’s permission.
“Whether we can or should denounce Bayern is being considered.”
Although Bilbao received a considerable sum for Martínez, the Spaniards have a policy of only buying other Basque players, and so the size of the remuneration is less significant for them due to the smaller choice available.
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