Leeds United ordered to pay Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5m compensation for breach of contract - The Athletic 10/4/23
By David Ornstein
Leeds United must pay Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5million
(€27.9m) after being found to have breached their former player’s contract.
The forward, now at Basel, took his case against the Premier
League club to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, who found partially in his
favour.
Leeds have appealed against the decision. When contacted by
The Athletic, Leeds said: “The club cannot comment on an ongoing legal matter.”
The large nature of the fine may represent payment in full
to the player for a five-year contract on a reported €90,000 per week. The size
of the award will sound a warning to other clubs about the potential
consequences of transfer disputes.
In December last year, the West Yorkshire side reached a
£15.5m settlement with RB Leipzig following a transfer dispute over Augustin.
The English club previously lost their Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) case after the two clubs were locked in a dispute over the
move.
But the case was officially closed following an ‘amicable
resolution’.
Leeds were previously ordered to pay the full €21million
(£18m) fee agreed with Leipzig at the time of Augustin’s loan move in January
2020.
The loan included a purchase obligation compelling Leeds to
pay €21m if they were promoted at the end of the 2019-20 season. Leeds were
promoted after the COVID-19 pause to the campaign.
A FIFA hearing in June 2021 upheld Leipzig’s claim – called
the “Challenged Decision” — that Leeds had to pay the transfer fee, with a
first instalment of €6.7m (£5.85m) due. Leeds appealed that decision to CAS.
Augustin played three games for Leeds, failing to score. He
has since represented Nantes and is now at Basel.
The Athletic revealed in 2021 that 49ers Enterprises held an
option to buy Leeds in January 2024, but few anticipate that a takeover is
going to wait until next year. Those familiar with the deal and the discussions
around it believe it will proceed by this summer, if not sooner.
How it did it come to this?
Former Paris Saint-Germain striker Augustin joined Leeds
United on loan from RB Leipzig at the end of the January transfer window in
2020.
He had made just shy of 100 first-team appearances for PSG
and Leipzig from 2015-19, scoring 20 goals, and in the summer of 2016 he helped
France win the European Under-19 Championship, top-scoring in the tournament
with six, one ahead of Kylian Mbappe.
Then Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa said publicly that, in
peak form, Augustin would be worth in the region of £40m after approving the
transfer personally.
However, he made three only appearances — all as a
substitute in the February of that year totalling 48 minutes — and never played
for Leeds again amid concerns over his suitability for Bielsa’s style of play.
What happened next?
The dispute stemmed from the original loan agreement with
Leipzig which included a clause stating Leeds would complete a permanent deal
for Augustin if they went up that season, for a fee of around £18m. It was an
obligation not an option, and the basis of a long-term contract with Augustin
had been discussed in advance.
Muddying the waters was the fact three months of lockdown
delayed the end of the English season until the July and the end date of the
obligation had elapsed in the June — after the season was meant to end but
before Leeds’ promotion was confirmed with two games to go in that extended
campaign.
Leipzig asked Leeds to alter the contract. They declined. As
far as the hierarchy at Elland Road were concerned, they were no longer legally
required to take him.
Leipzig launched legal action and also filed a complaint
with FIFA. Football’s world governing body ruled in the Germans’ favour,
instructing Leeds to pay up. Leeds appealed that decision and took the case to
CAS. They lost that ruling too and were ordered to pay the full transfer fee.
It was announced in December 2022 that the two clubs had
come to an “amicable resolution” to end the case with club accounts for 2021/22
later revealing that Leeds paid the Bundesliga side £15.5m.
It has now been revealed, by The Athletic, that Leeds must
also now pay Augustin £24.5m after being found to have breached their former
player’s contract. The club are appealing against the decision.
Where is Augustin now?
Following a spell at Nantes in Ligue 1, Augustin signed for
Swiss side FC Basel on a three-year contract in the summer of 2022.
