Dinamo to sue Sporting over Niculae transfer

[Cristina]

Dinamo Bucharest are set to go to court if Sporting Lisbon fail to pay a £700,000 instalment on Marius Niculae's transfer after speculation that the striker could have joined on a free transfer. "We'll take drastic action if we're not paid," said director Cristian Borcea.

The Lions have suspended making payments on the £2 million deal that went through in July. Niculae claims he had not renewed his contract with Dinamo before making the move and believes the Bucharest club may have forged his signature to prove that he had.

Sporting have already paid the first instalment but are unwilling to pay the second until the situation is clear.

Borcea informed that Dinamo will wait until the end of the month before getting tough.

"We're not panicking as the delay in the payment isn't significant and we're going to wait until the end of the month."

Portuguese League chief, Guillerme Aguiar, meanwhile, claims his organisation will do everything they can to stand up for Sporting.
"If Sporting so desire, the League will do everything in its power to help. But the player knows better than we do if he signed a contract or not.

"Sometimes clubs take advantage of old documents with player signatures to forge new contracts.

"The delay of payments of any agreement reached between clubs isn't enough to suspend the player," he concluded.

Niculae is furious with Borcea. Earlier this month, he said: "I will break his neck when I meet him. It would be better for him not to be in Bucharest when I am.

"He refused to come and talk with his cards open on the table. He is a dirty man and Dinamo should throw him out if they don't want to destroy their image.

"He forgets that before his friend Cornel Talnar brought him to Dinamo he was humble and used to sell gas cylinders. Now he pretends that he is a great executive director. He is very rich now because of the money he has made of the back of the players."

According to Romanian sports daily Pro Sport, Borcea used an old signature of Niculae's to create a false contract dated to 2005 to ensure the highly-rated youngster did not leave the club on a free transfer.

Niculae's valid contract was due to expire in the summer of 2001 and his agent Giovanni Becali informed interested suitors that the young striker would not command a transfer fee.

Becali began negotiations with a number of different clubs with Sporting leading the chase, but was stunned when Borcea produced another contract, signed by the player, tying him to the club to 2005.