Essien goes on Lyon strike

Villain

Well it looks like all those phone calls from Jose have paid off. From Teamtalk.com:

Essien told the Daily Mirror: "I am totally disappointed about what is happening and I feel very let down by Lyon. This is turning into a nightmare for me and I cannot understand why they are acting this way.

"The club know what I want, they know I want to leave and I have kept them informed at every stage, but they are behaving very badly over this.

"I have made it clear to them that I will not play for them again. From now on I am training with the junior players and I will not take part in any first-team matches for them - they know that.

"Chelsea are the only team I wish to play for. I have heard the Lyon president saying other clubs from the English Premiership are interested in signing me, including Arsenal and Manchester United, but I have no desire to play for anyone else other than Chelsea.

"I will not go to another club, even Real Madrid. Chelsea want me and I want to play for them.

"That is why I am so disappointed with the situation.

"I feel they have let me down. They are telling me one thing then doing another and that is not healthy for me, the manager of Lyon or the rest of the squad. The sooner Lyon resolve this the better."

However, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is not willing to release the midfielder unless he receives a bid comparable to the offer Chelsea made for Steven Gerrard, thought to be in excess of £30m.

Aulas, who has set a deadline of 26 August to complete the deal, said: "Michael is considered by coach Gerard Houllier at the same level or perhaps even better than Steven Gerrard at a younger age.

"As long as the offer does not correspond to the price, there will be no sale."

SteM

I hate to see players do things like this.

It'll be interesting to see how Lyon handle his tantrum. If they have a valuation of him and think Chelsea can pay it then they've every right to hold out. £30m is way over the top imo but when Chelsea become involved the selling club see $$ signs and that's just the way things are.

I'd guess that something will be settled before the transfer deadline - cash + player or something.

super_furry

And here we have yet another case of Chelsea unsettling a player before they're even given the chance to talk to him officially.

20 Times 20 Times

they will pay the asking price oof over €30 which is the crazy thing ,

yop

Cole, Gerard, Obi, now essien, bit of a trail of destruction they are leaving, interesting though that the first 2 did not make the moves.

Big Nelly

Actually go with the player on this! Lyon are acting like spoilt kids! "well u where going to pay 30 mil for him so I want the same"!even thou player only worth about 10mil! good on him.....mite get clubs to start acting sanely when Chelsea make a bid for a player!! not just add on 10mil or more because it is Chelsea!!

Who do they think they are? they play in a fairly useless league!! alot of over rated players in there league e.g. most of the player Houllier bought....new Zidane......haha

anyway rant over!!

Guy:Incognito

Big Nelly wrote:

Actually go with the player on this! Lyon are acting like spoilt kids! "well u where going to pay 30 mil for him so I want the same"!even thou player only worth about 10mil! good on him.....mite get clubs to start acting sanely when Chelsea make a bid for a player!! not just add on 10mil or more because it is Chelsea!! !!

Or maybe a player should have to honour the ontract they signed in good faith with a club. They own him until such time the contract is up or THEY decide to sell him. Contracts mean fcuk all anymore, clubs may as well have everyone on a week to week contract for all the security they have.

Kingp35

I really hate players who do this!! He is contracted to Lyon so they own Essien. They decide if they sell or if they don't. They decide how much money thet want for him and the player has no right to do this. I think some sort of rule should be brought in against players who this where they will be punished severly. Its just not on and its real bad form on Essiens part

Davei141

Let him rot in the reserves till chelsea or any other club dont know who michael essien is

super_furry

I'd love if Lyon had the balls to do that. Essien has obviously been swayed by Chelsea's huge cheque book and is only in it for the money if he's willing to turn down the likes of Real Madrid, Man United and Arsenal.

Keano_sli

Personally I think if hes the type of player who will strike to get a move he is a complete dickhead and Chelsea are welcome to him, Will he go on strike for Chelsea if he doesn't get to play regularly?, will he upset the harmony at the club? Players like him turn me off football.
And on that note, sing your ****ing contract Rio!

Big Nelly

Kingp35 wrote:

I really hate players who do this!! He is contracted to Lyon so they own Essien. They decide if they sell or if they don't. They decide how much money thet want for him and the player has no right to do this. I think some sort of rule should be brought in against players who this where they will be punished severly. Its just not on and its real bad form on Essiens part

What about ur thread yesterday or the day before where Leeds dumped a player off there books breaking the contract they gave him! maybe it was over the top contract but they where the club that handed it to them.....so ur saying a club can do this to a player that hasnt worked out but if a player is at the top of his game wants to move to a better league and have a chance of winning the CL after winning nearly everything(how many league/cup medals does he have in france?) in the league he is in the moment then this is "real bad form"?

Have to look at it from both points of view!!

Guy:Incognito

Big Nelly wrote:

What about ur thread yesterday or the day before where Leeds dumped a player off there books breaking the contract they gave him! maybe it was over the top contract but they where the club that handed it to them.....so ur saying a club can do this to a player that hasnt worked out but if a player is at the top of his game wants to move to a better league and have a chance of winning the CL after winning nearly everything(how many league/cup medals does he have in france?) in the league he is in the moment then this is "real bad form"?

Have to look at it from both points of view!!

The club OWNES the player, not the other way round. The club payed money for him and pay him wages, so are well within their rights to buy and sell him at their leisure.

Necronomicon

Yeah I hate to see players do this. It's pure pettiness. They should refuse to sell him and just have him sit on the bench for the season.

PHB

I figure that if Lyon don't get he money for him, they might ask for a investigation.
Or they could say to Chelsea, hey hows that 3 point deduction looking, pay us 30 million or else.

Necronomicon

It's true, he obviously has been unsettled, but have they done anything against the rules? It seems to have been done through the media rather than direct contact with the player.

PHB

Michael Essien has denied he is on strike and is in the squad for Lyon's Ligue 1 game on Saturday.

The 22-year-old wants to join Chelsea, who have had bids of £10m, £16.75m, £18m and £21m turned down by Lyon.

"From now on I am playing with the junior players and I will not take part in any first-team matches for them," Essien was quoted as saying.

But then on Friday he said: "I don't know anything about this. I didn't tell Lyon anything."

That is in direct contradiction to the quotes attributed to Essien earlier.

Uh oh, its been made up

MooShop

super_furry wrote:

And here we have yet another case of Chelsea unsettling a player before they're even given the chance to talk to him officially.

yeah your totally right there. i read a report from a Lyon player that he was a happy lad and enjoyed football and had a good spirit in the dressing room but since Chelsea became interested he has changed, does'nt talk to anyone at the club or anything like that and its a shame to see. At the end of the day though Lyon OWN him and can ask for what they want for him. They choose when they want to sell him and are well within their rights to hold out for what they think is the right offer

MooShop

Sarge wrote:

they will pay the asking price oof over €30 which is the crazy thing ,

its actually over £30 million which is about €45 million

Kingp35

Big Nelly wrote:

What about ur thread yesterday or the day before where Leeds dumped a player off there books breaking the contract they gave him! maybe it was over the top contract but they where the club that handed it to them.....so ur saying a club can do this to a player that hasnt worked out but if a player is at the top of his game wants to move to a better league and have a chance of winning the CL after winning nearly everything(how many league/cup medals does he have in france?) in the league he is in the moment then this is "real bad form"?

Have to look at it from both points of view!!

Ah you must be having a laugh. This is a totally different situation. Both Leeds and Seth Johnson agreed that he should leave the club. they cant just cancel a contract the player needs to agree to move on as well. They both agreed on this. Tell me how this relates in any way to the Essien situation?

ciaran76

Lyon should fine him a weeks wages every time he doesn't play and we will see how long he stays on strike. I hate players doing this it seems really petty. Lyon value him at a price and its their right to hold out for it. Contracts are not worth the paper they are wrote on anymore !

pickarooney

Is Essien really any good (yet) or another Drogba?

Gileadi

again most of peoples arguements are based on hear say that was probably blown over the top by tabloids

jumping on the anti-chelsea bandwagon seems the thing to do just like the ABU thing a few years back

when it comes down to it we dont know exactly whats going on and no doubt we never will unless somebody involved writes a book later in life(or next month knowing modern footballers)

from my point of view he has stated catagorically that he wants to join chelsea and no longer sees himself as a lyon player,he said that about 2 weeks back i think. personally if i was on a team with him i dont know how comfortable i would be playing with somebody whos only half committed,thats of course assuming that he will actually play

no doubt lyon already have had an offer far above what would be considered the normal market value for the player,and when you add in that chelsea normally pay all the transfer fees in one lump sum and not staggered payments like other clubs they may yet decide to accept

PHB

The Lyon president has stood firm and there is no reason for him not to do so.
Once the transfer window closes, Essien is forced to play for the club, there is no way he is not going to.
He knows he needs to continue his form if he intends to move anyway, so that won't be an issue.
Furthermore, Lyon don't need the money. They are a rich rich club and they are certianly not a selling club, they have been top of the French league for four years running.
If Chelsea want to buy him, they are going to have to give up a player tbh, thats what Lyon really want I think, they want a player + cash.
Drogba is probably who they have in mind, and I think Chelsea won't pay it.

TBH what I think is really going on is the following.
Essien was targetted by United quite early, before the end of the season.
United were going to make a decent bid, like 15 million, and it was probably going to be rejected. United were gona up it to 20 or something, and it'd be done and dusted.
Chelsea don't want United to get another midfielder, and thus thought it'd be great to hi-jack the deal. However I don't think they have any intention of actually buying Essien.
Why are they holding out over 8 million pounds, what is possibly in it for them? They have literally no transfer limit, they are totally rich. Why do this? If they want a player, they can simply pay for it?
Then it hit me, they don't intend to buy him.
They only wanted to **** up United's chances.
Firstly by at least raising the asking price.
Secondly by stalling so long on a deal, that no United deal could possibly happen.
Smart play if you ask me

Big Nelly

The Lyon president has been saying for the start we want this wound up by such and such a date and so on....cant remember the exact date....but the week after he comes out and saying that utd and Arsenal where after Essien as well when it was clear they where not because couldnt afford him....he was just trying to get more money out of Chelsea.....I think half the problem is the way Lyon have dealt with this.....wanting 30 million and a Chelsea player was stated at one stage....who do they think Essien is? Maradona?

in regards to him I have seen him play a number of time and he is an ok player! still very young and rough around the edges but he is no keane yet!!

PiE

I'm sure he wants to go to Chelsea sooo much 'cos he's supported them ever since he was 2months old :rolleyes:

Just another mercenary.

~Rebel~

This reminds me a little bit of the Cisse - Liverpool move a few years ago, though that was handled the way it should have been.
Liverpool went in for him, and he said he wanted to leave to go to pool. Auxerre said no, so a larger bid was put in and they still said no. They made a gentlemans agreement eventually that he could come after a year. Even though he wanted to leave, cisse still put his heart and soul into that team that season and finished topscoerer in france (again). A model professional in fairness, even after that year when loads of other major teams came calling (arsenal, real etc) he still said no, that he was headed for pool because they had shown faith in him and he wanted to repay that faith. Essien could elarn a thing or two rather then acting like a sulking child. He signed a contract, therefore has nthing to complain about. If he shows he's good enough, he'll get his move, it might just take another year. He's young.

Big Nelly

PiE wrote:

I'm sure he wants to go to Chelsea sooo much 'cos he's supported them ever since he was 2months old :rolleyes:

Just another mercenary.

Have to agree with this....was going on at start of summer how much he loved Utd and dreamed that he couldplay for them one day and blah blah blah....as soon as Chelsea where the only bidder changed from Utd to Chelsea!!

Gileadi

not a bad theory PHB,it certantly makes sense on alot of levels

although another view on it is that Roman the red has told kenyon to stop getting screwed in the transfer market and this has them unwilling to pay the "chelsea price" for players in future,possibly as part of the plan to get the club self sustainable by 2010

The Muppet

Stekelly wrote:

The club OWNES the player, not the other way round. The club payed money for him and pay him wages, so are well within their rights to buy and sell him at their leisure.

It's all a a game. In Businees term he's been head hunted and offered a better contract, It happens in business every day. No point keeping an unhappy player Lyon will hold out for the highest offer and let him go. Too risky not to , this time next year his value could have plummeted a la Van Der Vaart. He 'll be in London before the start of the season.

Seaneh

from goal.com

Essien Denies Strike Claim
8/5/2005 3:48:00 PM
Michael Essien has denied reports that he's gone on strike over Lyon's refusal to sell him to Chelsea.

Chelsea have had numerous bids for the 22-year-old Ghanian midfielder rejected this summer buy Lyon, who are demanding in excess of £30m for the player.

Earlier today Essien was quoted as saying: "From now on I am playing with the junior players and I will not take part in any first-team matches for them.

"I feel very let down by Lyon. I cannot understand why they’ve acted this way."

However, he has now said: "I don’t know anything about this. I didn’t tell Lyon anything."

Essien missed Lyon’s first match of the season, against Le Mans, but he has been named in the squad to face Racing Strasbourg by boss Gerard Houllier.

pickarooney

Gileadi wrote:

Roman the red

Are you implying that he's a communist or a Liverpool fan?

Pepe LeFrits

Essien's agent Fabien Piveteau has now insisted that the African is not on strike, but said that he did not play in Lyon's opening game of the season because he does not want an injury scuppering a move to Stamford Bridge.

"He's afraid to be injured," Piveteau told the BBC.

"It's the chance of his life and he does not have a bad attitude - but he does not want to pick up injuries.

What a complete cúnt. I can see why Kenyon wants him.

wheres me jumpa

i think chelsea will actually pay the 30mill. so lyon are right to hold out for as much as they want.

from what i have seen of essien he looks good, but i also thought the same thing about drogba. so 30mil is a huge gamble on this player. it raises the expectation so much. but chelsea dont seem to mind so the best of luck with it.

smuckers

Well he's out of the squad for tomorrow as his mind's not right, my arse he's worth 30mil 10mil tops, no one even heard of him before last year, if we don't him fine if we do it will bolster the squad, especially for The CL.

evilhomer

Big Nelly wrote:

The Lyon president has been saying for the start we want this wound up by such and such a date and so on....cant remember the exact date....but the week after he comes out and saying that utd and Arsenal where after Essien as well when it was clear they where not because couldnt afford him....he was just trying to get more money out of Chelsea.....I think half the problem is the way Lyon have dealt with this.....wanting 30 million and a Chelsea player was stated at one stage....who do they think Essien is? Maradona?

I agree with you Nelly.
The Lyon president is being a greedy bastard in my opinion. He only wants the money for the player.
He didn't want £32 million for Essien until He heard that Chelsea had offered that for Gerrard! So he decided to himself that he would ask for that amount since Chelsea had that much to throw around for a midfielder.

Then last week he comes out with a new demand of £32 million plus a Chelsea player. Plus he mentioned that Arsenal and Man United were in for him too.

Now with his new demands i'm sure he only said this because it didn't look like Chelsea would pay the £32 million. So up the stakes and ask for more then Chelsea might just say "ok here is you damn £32 million"

I believe that Abramovich has instructed Kenyon not to get done over in the transfer market anymore. As Wenger said "There is a price for the rest of us and there is a Chelsea price"

Abramovich is a business man, he won't want to throw £10 million away he doesn't have to. I think when Arnesen takes over buying the players he will be much shrewder in the market and will not be taken advantage of as easily.

pickarooney

If Essien stays and helps Lyon win the CL he might start to look worth something like the amounts being talked about. A player's worth is related to more than just his skill level, IMO, with dedication and commitment high on the list.

Guy:Incognito

evilhomer wrote:

I agree with you Nelly.
The Lyon president is being a greedy bastard in my opinion. He only wants the money for the player.
He didn't want £32 million for Essien until He heard that Chelsea had offered that for Gerrard! So he decided to himself that he would ask for that amount since Chelsea had that much to throw around for a midfielder.

Then last week he comes out with a new demand of £32 million plus a Chelsea player. Plus he mentioned that Arsenal and Man United were in for him too.

Now with his new demands i'm sure he only said this because it didn't look like Chelsea would pay the £32 million. So up the stakes and ask for more then Chelsea might just say "ok here is you damn £32 million"

I believe that Abramovich has instructed Kenyon not to get done over in the transfer market anymore. As Wenger said "There is a price for the rest of us and there is a Chelsea price"

Abramovich is a business man, he won't want to throw £10 million away he doesn't have to. I think when Arnesen takes over buying the players he will be much shrewder in the market and will not be taken advantage of as easily.

Is he not lyons too demand what they want with? if you were selling something and thought u could get a certain price for it, would you not try to get it?

eirebhoy

Stekelly wrote:

Is he not lyons too demand what they want with? if you were selling something and thought u could get a certain price for it, would you not try to get it?

Yes but if Chelsea pull out of the deal and Lyon have an unhappy player on their hands at the start of the season, its Lyon's fault.

eirebhoy

Just said on SSN that Lyon have rejected Chelsea's final offer and the matter is now closed. Idiots.

lili

seems finally aulas will sell him in the following days. i don't know yet how high will be the transfert.

PHB

Outspoken Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has dismissed claims Chelsea are poised to finally clinch the signing of Michael Essien.

The summer's longest-running transfer saga appeared close to ending earlier on Wednesday when reports suggested Lyon had finally succumbed to Chelsea's advances and were willing to sell the Ghana international for £24 million.

However, Aulas - who has been quick to criticise The Blues for the manner in which they have conducted their transfer dealings - has spoken out to deny any deal is near.

The l'OL supremo insists the transfer is no further advanced than earlier in the when he claimed no deal would be done.

"Contrary to numerous reports in the English press, Jean-Michel Aulas confirms that there is no agreement between Chelsea and Lyon over midfielder Michael Essien," a statement on Lyon's official website read.

"The president of the four-times French champions remains committed to the position he laid out in Monday's chat with www.olweb.fr."

Despite Aulas' assertions to the contrary a deal to take Essien to Stamford Bridge is still expected to go through before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month, but the French club have made it clear they will only sell on their terms.

Dont think so