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Talk has died down a bit stateside regarding the transfer rumor linking Los Angeles Football Club to Peñarol attacker Brian Rodriguez, but the chatter continues apace in Uruguay!
It appears Peñarol executives and the player’s agent are arguing in the press, in fact. The latest came on Friday, when Pablo Bentancur, purportedly Rodriguez’s agent, claimed the transfer was complete between LAFC and Peñarol, but did not loop him in to find out if Rodriguez even wanted to go to LAFC, according to Sport 890.
Furthermore, Bentancur claimed Peñarol balked at paying Rodriguez 20 percent, which sounds like 20 percent of the transfer fee, instead trying to negotiate to pay the player 10 percent. In many transfers, players get a cut of the proceeds. Bentancur claimed he was trying to get LAFC to pay the difference so Rodriguez would receive 20 percent.
But Peñarol executive Alejandro Ruibal came in like a wrecking ball in response on Twitter.
Miente el “comisionista”: Peñarol nunca dudó en pagarle el 20% al jugador y él siempre estuvo enterado de las condiciones. Peñarol quiere trabajar con empresarios que comprendan lo que es un ganar-ganar y no con comisionistas-oportunistas.
— Alejandro Ruibal (@A_Ruibal) August 2, 2019
Translation: The “agent” lies: Peñarol never hesitated to pay the player 20% and he always understood the conditions. Peñarol wants to work with businessmen who understand what a win-win situation is and not with commission opportunists.
Well, then!
Sport 890 also heard from Ruibal, who said that Peñarol kept Bentancur in touch regarding the negotiations with LAFC throughout, and “Peñarol was always transparent, we never wanted to take advantage with Brian Rodriguez.” He also added the whole deal could be in jeopardy because of Bentancur’s comments.
So who’s right? Honestly I have no idea. One side could be lying/misrepresenting the situation, or they could both be a mix of right and wrong. Just based on their public comments, it’s hard to say for certain.
What does this mean for the purported transfer? I think the fact that Peñarol’s staff is still talking about the deal being in talks means it’s not dead, as long as they are being honest about that part. Beyond that, it’s hard to say if it will get over the line. The MLS summer transfer window closes next week, so time is running out to listen to Uruguayans sniping at each other in the press, but we’ll see what happens.
What do you think? Leave a comment below!
h/t Benjamin Rodriguez for sending us the link.