Lamine Camara’s failed move to Chelsea shows African players are not shown “respect”, a leading agent has claimed.
Camara was set to join Chelsea for £47million in a Deadline Day deal late on Tuesday.
But Monaco backtracked on a club-to-club written agreement to sell the player as the deal collapsed.
The French club were under pressure to sell, but U-turned on the deal once it became apparent Folarin Balogun’s sale to Everton was going to advance. Camara had already completed his Chelsea medical and was preparing to fly to London.
Balogun then decided against joining Everton, meaning neither player will leave Monaco this summer.
Ismaila Sarr’s agent, Diomansy Kamara, believes the failed moves of Camara and his client Sarr, from Crystal Palace to Liverpool, represent a lack of respect for African footballers.
Sarr had been pushing for an exit from Palace amid interest from Liverpool and Galatasaray but remains with the Eagles.
Kamara said: “The cases of Ismaila Sarr and Lamine Camara must all interrogate us.
“We have to get out of this logic where the African player can sometimes give the feeling that he is just a commodity: you buy it, you set its price, you negotiate its future and, too often, your will seems to go to the background.
“Our African players deserve respect. The respect of their work. The respect of their career. Respecting their ambitions. The respect of their voices.”
Kamara added: “A transfer shouldn't just be a matter of two clubs and numbers. Behind every contract, there's a man, a career, dreams and life choices.
“The fact that clubs can sometimes have the final word is a reality of professional football. But one question remains: what about the career and the will of the player?
“The player must be able to be heard and respected in the decisions that determine his future.
“Let's never forget what's important: behind every success, it's the players who write history first.”
