Real Madrid have a buy-back clause in their transfer agreement with Arsenal for Mesut Ozil, according to leaked transfer documents.
A contract on the Football Leaks website shows that the Gunners must notify Real if they ever intend to sell the World Cup winner to another Spanish club.
The financial terms of the offer received for the Germany playmaker would be disclosed to Real, who would have 48 hours to decide whether to match the offer, or until noon, London time, on the final day of the relevant transfer window, whichever comes first.
Should a rival Spanish club sign Ozil for more than 50million euros, Real would be entitled to 33 per cent of the profit.
The contract shows Arsenal paid an initial fee of 44m euros when they signed Ozil in September 2013, with the fee rising to a maximum of 50m euros.
Six separate 1m euros payments, up to a maximum of 6m euros, are contingent on Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League group stages in any season from July 2014 onwards. Each one must be paid within 30 days of qualification being secured, the contract states.
An Arsenal spokesman told Press Association Sport: “We don’t discuss contracts of any of our players.”
Chelsea must pay Monaco to sign Radamel Falcao
Chelsea must pay Monaco £38million to sign Radamel Falcao, although the striker’s loan move was free, leaked documents show.
Falcao moved to Stamford Bridge in July after an unsuccessful season-long loan at Manchester United, but has scored only once in 11 appearances and not featured since October due to a thigh injury.
A contract on the Football Leaks website says Falcao was loaned by Monaco to the Premier League champions free of charge.
“It is explicitly agreed that no fee is charged to Chelsea by AS Monaco for the temporary transfer of the player’s registration,” the document states.
The documents also show that Chelsea have until April 29, 2016 to notify Monaco in writing of their wish to sign Falcao.
The fee negotiated is Euros 50million, with half of the sum to be paid within seven days of the option being taken up and the remainder due before July 15, 2017.
It appears unlikely the option to buy will be taken up.
The Colombia striker was earlier this month linked with a return to Monaco, but the Ligue 1 club said the move fell through due to concerns about his fitness.
Chelsea declined to comment.
Steve Sidwell moves to Brighton on loan
Brighton have signed Steve Sidwell from Stoke on loan until the end of the season.
The 33-year-old completed the move on Monday and returns to Albion, where he had a two-month loan spell in the Sky Bet Championship in 2002/03.
Manager Chris Hughton told the club’s official site: “Steve is an experienced player who has played virtually his entire career in the Premier League. He knows this club, as well as a few of the squad and will supplement our existing midfield options.
“Beram Kayal, Dale Stephens, Andrew Crofts and others have been excellent in midfield for us this season, but we also need to make sure we have good options in every position of the team, and options which will be enough for us through until the end of the season.
“Steve brings that, and in addition, he is another experienced head; he is a player who’s proven at the very top level of English football. Brighton fans will know Steve is also a great athlete and top professional, so I’m absolutely delighted he has decided to join us.”
Ex-Fulham and Chelsea midfielder Sidwell scored five goals in 12 games during his previous loan at Brighton and has been at Stoke since 2014 but has played just 20 times.
La Liga extends transfer window to match European leagues
The Spanish football league says it has extended the end of the January transfer window by three days to February 1 in a bid to coincide with the timing applied in other European leagues.
The league says in a statement Monday that the closing date for “the second registration period” for the 2015-2016 season is now set at Monday, Feb. 1 at 23:59, “thus coinciding with the time limit set in most European professional leagues.”
The league had previously said Spain’s soccer clubs had until Jan. 29 to register new players for inclusion in the country’s first and second leagues.
Gervinho back in the market
Ivorian striker Gervinho will leave Roma as soon as contract talks with interested parties end in the coming days, according to the Serie A club’s sporting director Mauro Baldissoni.
“I can confirm we’re currently in talks. We’ve received interesting offers and when a player wants to leave the club there’s little you can do,” Baldissoni said.
Gervinho, who came close to joining the UAE side Al Jazira in the summer, has hit only six league goals for Roma this season and moved closer to the Stadio Olimpico exit door following the sacking of coach Rudi Garcia.
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