Brazilian star Lucas Ribeiro Costa raised eyebrows again on Friday when he completed his move to Spanish club Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.
African Times reported earlier this week on the impending transfer to Leonesa.
“He joins León as a free agent on a one-year deal. Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa welcomes Lucas Ribeiro to our club, wishing him every success in his new role in León,” announced the Segunda club on Friday.
The transfer raises questions on the basis that Ribeiro is, in fact, still contracted to Mamelodi Sundowns until July 2028.
Ribeiro, however, claims he has “just cause” to terminate his contract with Mamelodi Sundowns and join another club.
Ribeiro’s camp has pointed an accusing finger at Sundowns for “blocking” his way out, alleging that the Tshwane club has been “driving up the (transfer fee), again and again, in an unreasonable manner, without any regard for the player’s personal interests, which made the deal (with Qatar SC) impossible.”
Ribeiro is relying on the Lassana Diarra ruling for his Chloorkop exit. The Diarra ruling confirmed that central parts of FIFA’s transfer rules breach European law by restricting freedom of movement for players.
Legal experts have argued that the Diarra ruling has no bearing on Africa yet, considering it was challenging European law, and until it’s sent out for a global dialogue, it’s essentially non-existent.
Ribeiro’s case could be one of the first test cases, which may result in the amendment of FIFA transfer regulations.
In the meantime, Ribeiro’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Dupont from Belgium, has stated the player is free to play elsewhere while awaiting the FIFA tribunal to preside on the matter.
Sundowns have not responded to Ribeiro releasing a statement a few days ago announcing his exit and the latest development regarding signing with Leonesa.
Sundowns, meanwhile, have had a R30-million bid rejected for Brazilian midfielder Matheus Leonardo Sales Cardoso.
He belongs to the Portuguese club Santa Clara but is on loan at the Brazilian club Sport Recife.
