New hitch stalls Pedro Gonçalves' Sporting exit, Al Ittihad act | OneFootball

Pedro Gonçalves is getting ever closer to leaving Sporting to join Al Ittihad. The transfer was not completed last week due to bureaucratic issues related to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but the process is expected to be unblocked in the coming days.

According to newspaper A Bola, the deal should bring in between €25 million and €30 million for Sporting’s coffers. There is, however, another problem to solve: Al Ittihad currently exceeds the limit of eight foreign players over the age of 21 allowed on the match sheet in the Saudi league.

The club now managed by Jens Wissing has already started making room in the squad. Newspaper ‘Arriyadiyah’ reports that the club terminated the contract of Isaías Rodríguez, an Argentine left-back who had only one year left on his deal, but further departures will likely be needed.

Steven Bergwijn and Moussa Diaby are among the main candidates to leave Al Ittihad. The Dutchman has been affected by several physical issues, while the France international would be interested in a possible return to Bayer Leverkusen.

The Portugal international remains in Lisbon while Sporting and Al Ittihad work out the final details of an operation that should bring his long spell at Alvalade to an end.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.