Galatasaray not worried as Shenhua cries foul

SHANGHAI - Hürriyet Daily News

Galatasaray announced the signing of Didier Drogba late on Jan. 28. AFP PHOTO / IAN KINGTON

Shanghai Shenhua said it would appeal to FIFA to block Didier Drogba’s transfer to Galatasaray, but an agent working with the club said that the deal had already been finalized.

The star striker’s Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua expressed outrage over the move to Galatasaray yesterday, saying it breached his current contract and that he was still their player, Agence France-Presse reported.

Galatasaray and Drogba himself announced earlier this week that the Ivory Coast star had signed with the Turkish champion, ending a two-and-a-half year deal with the Chinese Super League side.

“Currently, Drogba is still a player of the Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, and the contract between both parties is still within the term of validity,” Shenhua said in a statement on its website.

Shenhua to file appeal to FIFA

“The club is deeply shocked by Galatasaray Football Club’s violation of rules by contacting a player still under contract.” Shenhua planned to appeal to football’s international governing body FIFA over the matter, the statement said.

“The Shanghai Shenhua Football Club is collating all the evidence and materials and preparing to submit them to FIFA so as to protect the club’s interests and prevent greater losses,” it said.

However, Ceylan Çalışkan, a transfer agent who worked with Galatasaray in the deal, said that Drogba had the right to cancel his contract due to payment failures by the Chinese club.

“There was an article in Drogba’s contract saying that he had the right to terminate his deal if he is not paid for a month,” Çalışkan spoke to NTV Spor. “Drogba has not been paid for three months and he terminated his contract on Jan. 16.”

Galatasaray has surprised the European football scene with the signing of Drogba just a week after announcing the signing ofWesley Sneijder from Inter Milan.