Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes Leeds United will have a few problems if they refuse to pay Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5million in compensation. The Athletic report that the French striker has been awarded the financial compensation after he took the case against the Whites to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, who 'found partially in his favour'.
Leeds are reportedly appealing the decision. The Whites have already stumped up £15.5million for the striker, despite only playing three games for the club, after they lost their case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Augustin, who now plays for Basel after a spell in France, signed for the Whites on loan from RB Leipzig in January 2020, with the club reportedly inserting an 'obligation to buy' clause within the deal if they were to win promotion to the Premier League. They achieved that feat on July 17 - after the expiry of the Augustin loan deal on June 30 - due to the delays to the season following the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: Leeds United reportedly told to pay Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5m for alleged breach of contract
Maguire told talkSPORT: "The transfer fee to RB Leipzig was £15.5million and you add on the wages of £24.5million that works out as a total cost of £40million, that's £830,000 a minute he was on the pitch. You can understand why Leeds are so reluctant to hand over the money."
The financial expert also believes this case should be a warning to all clubs to get their contracts in order. He said: "I think that applies to all clubs. We are seeing increasingly these obligation to buy contracts which have a clause such that, if a certain element is achieved, that triggers an additional sum regardless of the contribution made by the player.
"The reason for that is to provide an incentive for the player to sign a contract of employment and also find some protection for both parties because if he'd turned out to be a superstar, then he could have been worth more than £15.5million at the end of that season and Leeds fans would have said 'actually we've been able to get a bargain here.' Sadly that didn't prove to be the case."
Despite the reports suggesting a fee in the region of £24.4million will now be owed to Augustin for a loss of wages, Maguire believes the Premier League club will try to negotiate that down to a lower fee, given the striker has been able to continue to play.
"I think Leeds could have a few problems if they refuse to pay," Maguire added. "This is a decision made by FIFA and Leeds are perfectly entitled to appeal.
"Also, they're allowed to say there should be some form of mitigation in respect of the player because he's been able to play football as a professional once the contract issues were subsequently sorted.
"He is now playing in Switzerland in Basel, so is there now a case for saying the money he's earning from Basel should be reduced from what is owed from Leeds? I think we're fully aware the Swiss League is far less well remunerated than the Premier League and Leeds play very competitive wages these days."
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