by ant london » Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:12 am
Key part in why (it looks to me like) we have no case to answer is set out below
The player was already pursuing a civil claim against Rennes to be released from his contract before we came on the scene according to this
Fifa have confirmed that they are investigating the French club's complaint into City's actions in luring the defender to Manchester in 2008.
A Fifa statement said: "We can confirm that there is a case pending with Fifa's Player Status Department involving Jeremy Helan, Stade Rennais FC and Manchester City."
With Chelsea last week served with a transfer ban until Jan 2011 due to their signing of another French teenager, Gael Kakuta, from Lens, City could now face a similar penalty should Fifa deem that they have broken transfer regulations.
But the Abu Dhabi-owned club, who have spent in excess of £200m in the transfer market since Sheikh Mansour's takeover 12 months ago, are confident that a pre-existing civil action on behalf of Helan against Rennes rules out any suggestion of wrongdoing on their part.
Having signed a contract with Rennes as a 13-year-old, it is understood that Helan's action centres on the restrictive nature of his agreement with the club.
The civil action pre-dates City's move for the youngster, a product of France's world-renowned Clairefontaine academy, and with the player already in dispute with his club over his contract, City are confident that they cannot be accused of inducing Helan to break his agreement with Rennes.
City signed the player, who has performed for the club's U17 team this season, after Manchester United dropped out of the running to secure his services.
(oh and that's from the Telegraph btw)