Man City's 116th charge? New signing accused of 'breaking contract'

Tom Weber

Updated: 22 Jan 2025 17:36 GMT
4 min read

Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland, Man City — © IMAGO

Incoming Manchester City signing Juma Bah has been accused of 'unilaterally breaking his contract.'

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The Cityzens have been one of Europe's busiest clubs so far this month as they seek to rectify their disappointing first half of the season. Blockbuster signings Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis have already been announced, while €80 million striker Omar Marmoush is expected to be unveiled on Thursday.

One move that has gone under the radar is Man City's impending signing of promising Real Valladolid defender Juma Bah. According to Fabrizio Romano, a deal has already been agreed and only the last remaining details need to be ironed out.

Bah will not immediately join up with Man City but rather spend the next six months on loan at RC Lens, the club the Premier League giants signed Khusanov from.

However, he appears to have burned some bridges with his expected departure from Valladolid.

Bah 'breaks his contract'

The club released an official statement on Wednesday, accusing the 18-year-old of 'unilaterally breaking his contract' by not showing up for training. The LaLiga side also threatened to take legal action and appear to charge Man City and his agent with encouraging his actions.

"Abdulai Juma Bah and his agent informed Real Valladolid yesterday afternoon of their intention to unilaterally break the contract that binds both parties. Previously, yesterday afternoon, Manchester City sent a statement asking Real Valladolid to open negotiations for the player for a possible permanent transfer," a scathing official Valladolid statement read.

"Today, the Sierra Leonean has decided not to show up at his workplace for morning training. For all these reasons, the Club holds the player responsible for the breach of his contractual commitments, and has asked its legal department to initiate disciplinary action in this regard.

"The Club considers that Manchester City, a member of the City Football Group, is behind the Player's decision, and appears to have advised the player to take this route, which puts Real Valladolid in a defenceless position, after having recently rejected financial offers of a higher amount, even more so when the player... in recent days had refused to sign a player's license with our higher-category Blanquivioleta team, since this would entail an automatic increase in his termination clause.

"The Club warned the three parties about this situation yesterday through different requests, warning them of the possible consequences of their actions.

"Juma Bah arrived at the Anexos last summer on loan from AIK Freetown. The loan contract with the Sierra Leonean club ended on June 30 of this season and included a clause for Real Valladolid to exercise a purchase option, a clause that the Blanquivioleta entity exercised on January 1 so that the central defender's federative rights would belong to Pucela under a new contract of longer duration, and with better conditions.

"The player's intention, supposedly supported and guided by Manchester City and his agent, has caused great disappointment and indignation within Real Valladolid, who welcomed Juma Bah with open arms and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.

"The Royal Spanish Football Federation has just confirmed that the player has deposited the amount for the unilateral termination of the contract. In this regard, Real Valladolid reports that it reserves the right to resort to the appropriate legal and sporting jurisdictions to exercise its rights and defend its interests."