From Antúnez to Onopko and Jony: the most notorious lawsuits in football

The ‘Jony case’ was seen for sentencing last Thursday at a hearing held last Thursday at the City of Justice in Malaga. The resolution should be known approximately within 20 or 30 days. The story is complicated. Jony had a valid contract with Málaga until 2020, but the previous year and unilaterally, he left for Lazio alleging a clause that allowed him to go to a higher category club after the Blue and Whites’ relegation. The blue and white entity denounced because it understood that said condition was only valid for the Spanish League and not for foreigners demanding full payment of its termination clause, 12 million euros.

In line with this case we will reflect some of the most interesting lawsuits between clubs with a player in between.

Antúnez case (Seville and Betis).

An exciting story that we will try to summarize. In the 1945-46 campaign, Sevilla reached an agreement with two directors of Betis to sign Antúnez for 80,000 pesetas at the time (in euros 480). A respectable amount at the time. Betis was in the Second Division and with great economic problems, but its president, Eduardo Benjumea, was angry at that operation carried out behind his back and denounced it before the Federation. Antúnez played the last ten days in a Sevilla that won the League.

The complaint continued its course and after being rejected by the Andalusian and Spanish federations, it was admitted by the National Sports Delegation, which, however, maintained the results of Sevilla with Antúnez and, consequently, its League title. Attempt by Betis to remove that League from its eternal rival? Rumors were not lacking or lacking. As Betis could not return those 80,000 pesetas, Antúnez stayed in Nervión.

Pier Case (Sporting, Tenerife and Betis)

In 1995 Sporting transferred Pier to Tenerife, which in turn resold him to Betis. The Asturians denounced the player for breach of contract because they argued that Tenerife was the destination team and not a bridge to Heliopolis and they demanded 300 million pesetas (180,000 euros) from the footballer. They won the case and Pier considered mortgaging properties to assume that setback. Half of the debt would be cancelled.

Fran Case (Real Madrid and Deportivo)

The Superdepor star of the 90s renewed, in 1992, his contract with the Galician team when he had already signed with Real Madrid. The Professional League rejected the renewal with the Galicians because there was an agreement with the whites that would come into force from July 1 of that year. Lendoiro finally reached an agreement with the whites and kept Fran’s rights in exchange for 260 million pesetas (1.5 million euros).

Onopko case (Oviedo and Atlético)

Vickor Onopko was a great Russian midfielder. Oviedo agreed to sign him with Spartak Moscow. The contracts were drawn up and the Asturian club deposited them in the Spanish Federation that admitted them. Shortly after, Atlético de Madrid doubled the offer to the Moscow club, which closed the transfer. There were complaints and FIFA ended up agreeing with the people of Oviedo.

Case of Marcos Vales (Deportivo and Sporting)

The Deportivo youth squad, with a refined and extraordinary technique, He had no place in an eleven where Fran, Bebeto, Mauro Silva, Claudio, Donato and company were. As he had an amateur record, he went to Sporting through the change of residence formula (for reasons of study and work of the parents). Depor denounced but the Federation did not take it into account. Soon Vales was transferred to Zaragoza for 1.2 million euros,

Bebeto and Jorge Otero cases

Two other complaints that affect Deportivo de Augusto Cesar Lendoiro. Bebeto went to Brazil, to Vitoria de Bahia and the A Coruña club claimed nine million euros from him for breach of contract. He claimed 3 million euros from Jorge Oteto, a Celta player, given that, having a private agreement, he went to Valencia. Bebeto ended up in Sevilla, with relegation to Second. Lendoiro entered into a cumbersome dynamic of trials.

Di Stéfano case (Real Madrid and Barcelona)

Much has been written on this subject and not always objectively. Alfredo Di Stéfano belonged to River Plate, but a strike by Argentine soccer players in the mid-1950s caused the country’s championship to stop, for which many players sought other horizons. Di Stéfano went to Millonarios de Colombia for two years. Then he would return to Argentina.

Barcelona reached an agreement with River, which was the owner of La Saeta Rubia. Real Madrid did it with Millonarios, who was the owner for two years. Complicated theme. FIFA decided that Di Stéfano would play two alternate years in each of the two greats of Spanish football. As Barça resigned, he stayed at Real Madrid.

Do the players go where they want?

Míchel, a former Real Madrid player and current coach, has the following theory: “Players always go where they want to go”. Is this always like this? They are not always aware of what they and their advisers sign. Then there is the case of the small print that will surely be decisive to know if Malaga wins, or not, the lawsuit over Jony.