Liverpool have issued a letter of apology to Fulham for their role in Clint Dempsey’s transfer saga, which ended with the American international joining Tottenham during the summer transfer window.
Liverpool courted Clint Dempsey at the start of this season. The American was left out of Fulham’s preseason squad as Liverpool’s interest in him became public and Dempsey stated his desire to leave the club.
But before any official deal took place, a story was posted on Liverpool owner’s FSG website which claimed that Dempsey has joined the Anfield club.
This was followed by an interview (posted on Liverpool’s official site) of manager Brendan Rodgers, where he revealed that Liverpool are in talks with the London club regarding a move for Dempsey.
Fulham lodged an official complaint against Liverpool to the FA in July after the above incidents took place. The London club claimed that Liverpool’s alleged attempt at tapping up has unsettled the player, which eventually led to his departure to Tottenham.
Despite manager Brendan Rodgers stepping in to resolve the mess surrounding the transfer saga, Fulham rejected Liverpool’s bid (they also rejected an offer from Aston Villa) before accepting Spurs’ offer for the American.
The Premier League launched an investigation into the case after receiving Fulham’s complaint, but are yet to reveal its outcome.
According to recent reports, Liverpool’s co-owner Tom Werner has recently personally visited Craven Cottage to meet Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed to resolve the differences between the clubs. This visit was followed by an official letter of apology from Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre.
In the letter Liverpool accepted their misconducts and apologized to Fulham. The Merseyside club reassured Fulham that these incidents won’t be repeated in future.
Ayre wrote in the letter:
“Please also consider this letter from me to be an additional expression of sincere regret and apology from our club to your club for our actions last summer.
Our club can do better and we pledge that it will.”
Fulham are yet to make any official statements regarding this letter and it would be interesting to see whether they will drop their charges after this apology. But the English Premier League is reportedly considering dropping its investigation in this case.
Liverpool might yet face penalty for breaching the regulations in pursuing of a player. The Premier League panel is expected to make an announcement on this issue shortly.
Ironically though, it is Tottenham who have gained the most out of these incidents.
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