Viktor Gyokeres’ agent has suffered a setback at Sporting Lisbon in a bombastic interview for her role in his controversial transfer saga.
The striker turned down Manchester United and a reunion with Ruben Amorim to complete a £64million move to Arsenal in July.
But amid this decision about his future, he refused to return to pre-season training with Sporting as he wanted to force a move.
The club’s president released a stern statement against Gyokeres and a major rift was created caused by different expectations on fees.
And now an assistant to the Swedish international’s agent, Jonathan Chalkias, has spoken out about his client’s mistreatment.
Chalkias has revealed that Sporting had agreed a bigger deal with United for Gyokeres behind their backs.
READ MORE ABOUT VIKTOR GYOKERES
This agreement would have seen the striker work with former coach Amorim again, but he always wanted to move to Arsenal and his club’s secret actions led to the breakdown of the relationship.
What was told to Man United about Gyokeres?
Chalkias also explained on the Studio Allsvenskan podcast: “Insane amounts were offered from Saudi Arabia.”
“We’re supposed to act in our best interests. Do we have a percentage? Of course. It’s a lot of money.”
“Maybe Viktor should act on that one day. I don’t think we ever pressured him to accept the offer.”
“At the end of the day, money comes and goes and this move to Arsenal brings us a lot of marketing.”
“She [Sporting] Because we had done a deal with Manchester United behind our backs, that was a problem. United offered a higher transfer fee.
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What else was said about Gyokeres and Sporting?
Chalkias delved deeper into the broken relationship between Gyokeres and Sporting in the summer window.
And he criticized President Frederico Varandas’ actions, claiming his client should have been shown more respect when it came to listening to his wishes.
“If [Hugo] “Viana was still at Sporting, the deal would have been done within an hour,” Chalkias added about Gyokeres’ transfer.
“Everything was written, but we didn’t have time to start a legal battle. I don’t understand how a player who has scored so many goals and won three trophies doesn’t deserve more respect.”
“The industry is about trusting people. The sacrifices we made were probably the turning point in closing the deal.”
“They offered him to Real Madrid, made headlines at Madrid and even at United, but from day one there was a bond with Arsenal.”
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Life at Arsenal
Gyokeres, of course, eventually ended up at Arsenal, but he didn’t start off at his best.
He has scored three times in ten appearances for the Gunners so far and has not scored since September 13th.
His last goal for the club came in a 3-0 home win against Nottingham Forest, two games after scoring twice against Leeds.
This has led to some concerns about Gyokeres’ transition from the Portuguese top flight to the Premier League.
But Mikel Arteta will continue to support his striker to score goals as his side look to challenge for the title again.
Arsenal sit at the top of the Premier League table after seven games, one point ahead of reigning champions Liverpool.