Steven Bala had before him the option of passing from Barnet, who plays in the Conference Premier (English fifth division), at Benfica. However, the English club has not allowed the Albanian pearl to leave the team. Faced with this, the footballer has complained in Sportsmail: “My mental health has suffered. I can't sleep at night. I just want to play football. This situation is killing my career. It's hard to keep going … I'm struggling.”.
The problem between Barnet and Bullet It is in the lack of agreement on whether the English club has to receive financial compensation for the transfer of a 17-year-old player. A fact that has led the Football Association to enter the dispute.
Bala had the opportunity to sign for Benfica when he was 16 years old. The London team claimed that, as the player was at an age at which he could not legally sign a contract with Barnet, will pay 36,000 pounds (about 40,215 euros), variables of almost a million and a half euros and 20% for a future transfer by a player who had left his academy and was not within the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). Benfica, which tried to sign the player before the stoppage due to the coronavirus, refused to pay the club from the islands and their interest in Bala has disappeared.
Bala, who considers that he should leave without leaving money in the club, has received the offer of a scholarship from Barnet that would make him a professional. Meanwhile, clubs like Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Colchester, yes they have the academy status of the Elite Players Performance Plan, they have been interested in signing the player without paying financial compensation.
Representatives of the Albanian contacted the FA and the EFL to clarify whether Barnet is entitled to receive money for the player. The English Federation responded in October advising them to seek legal advice: “They cannot advise on the proposed unilateral termination of agreements that individuals may have signed with a club.”
Doubts hang over the demands that they ask from the Barnet. A spokesperson for the club assured Sportsmail: “Barnet FC has operated an Academy under the EPPP scheme for more than ten years, committing an enormous amount of time, resources and efforts in the development of young talents. To date the expense is seven figures and this without having take into account the millions spent by our President on developing international training facilities at The Hive London, which our young students were able to fully utilize. Despite our significant investment in training and facilities, our EPPP license was revoked by the PGB (FA, Premier League and Football League) in 2020 due to the relegation of our first team in 2018. We have made representations before these bodies in relation to this ridiculous rule, which is widely condemned by clubs, but money brokers They seem to believe that it is right to punish boys when the top men's team performs poorly. Our letter to the president of these agencies have been left unanswered. “
Barnet decided then not to put stones in the way of players who wanted to sign for other teams: “Barnet made the decision not to hinder any player who wanted to join another football club, so all of our young players have been released to join other academies at no cost. The compensation rights mentioned are strictly a matter between clubs. . They were designed to replace transfer fees and are intended to fairly compensate a club for its share of development costs. “
The English club added about Bala's case: “With regard to Mr. Bala, the club is not aware of any particular dispute, but in any case does not wish to comment on individual circumstances.. If you want to write to the club secretary, we will be happy to discuss the matter, but our position remains the same as before and we will never seek any compensation from any player. “