The Law Rules in Lyon’s Favor

By: Inara | July 12th, 2007

The end to the Nilmar saga has arrived. At least until Corinthians find yet another way to delay payment.

In a press release, Lyon announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (the highest possible authority in athletics) ruled in their favor. This means that Corinthians have to honor the contract they made with Lyon regarding Nilmar (the real contract, not the fake one).

Don’t be deceived. Nilmar is stressing out on the inside.

From the press release:

FIFA, then the Court of Arbitration for Sport successively acknowledged the validity of the transfer from Olympique Lyonnais and the reality of the debt of Corinthians towards Olympique Lyonnais. Olympique Lyonnais will now ask FIFA to implement the terms contained in the first ruling [February 2007 by FIFA] so that Corinthians honor their obligations.

Anyone who knows anything about Brazilian football can tell you that the Corinthians have no money. They can barely pay their own players (this is all due to the gross mismanagement by MSI). So there is little chance of Lyon seeing the remaining €8m paid back to them.

I realize this is a confusing subject because it’s been going on for so long, with so many different parties involved who want different things, and with rumors of scandals mixed in as well, so I thought it would be helpful if I broke down the entire saga, with links on the bottom for further information.

Nilmar with Lyon’s “Magic Triangle” of Juni, Essien, and Diarra.

Solutions:

1. Nilmar returns to Lyon. However, no one wants this. Nilmar doesn’t want to play for Lyon after they sent him back to Brazil because of Fred, nor does he want to be a squad player. Lyon, on the other hand, don’t have any extra non-EU spots and furthermore, aren’t convinced by him as he always seems to be picking up injuries. And then there is his possible involvement in his fluke transfer.

2. Lyon get a player from Corinthians in lieu of cash. This seems to be the best solution. Problem is, there isn’t a single player that Lyon really want at the moment. They followed Eduardo Ratinho for awhile but dropped their interest. The current flavor of the month seems to be Willian Borges da Silva, though he hasn’t been that convincing.

Complications:

On Lyon’s side of things, until Juninho gets his French passport, all four non-EU spots are currently filled (Fred, Cris, Fabio Santos, and Juninho). Also, the club prefers Renato Augusto, but he plays for Flamengo. So it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to pursue him if they also have to take up a Corinthians player.

The Corinthians lose out. To be fair, most of the mess is because of MSI. It was MSI who wanted Nilmar, it was MSI who arranged the transfer, and it was MSI who promised to pay for it. But due to a falling out with the club’s management, they backed away from Corinthians and now refuse to pay Lyon, leaving the burden on Corinthians.

Nilmar himself gets screwed over. He wanted Lyon to lose the court battle because he is having other problems with Corinthians (they aren’t paying his wages, etc) and wanted to terminate his contract with the club (rumor was that he was being courted by Flamengo and Benfica). But if Lyon won the battle and Corinthians were forced to pay them, there would be little chance of Nilmar leaving since the club just shelled out €8m for him.

So there really is no happy resolution since all three sides lose in the end.

Keep praying, buddy.

Timeline:

August 2004: Lyon buy Nilmar (then 19) from Internacional for €7.5m.
April 2005: During the Champions League second leg quarterfinal match against PSV, Nilmar is fouled in the penalty area but the referee doesn’t see the infraction and doesn’t award Lyon a penalty that could have propelled them to the semifinals.
May 2005: Nilmar finishes his first season in disappointment. Other than two goals in the Champions League and two goals in L1, his performance was otherwise unimpressive.
August 2005: The arrival of Gerard Houllier spells doom for Nilmar. Lyon buy Fred from Cruzeiro, and with too many Brazilians on the roster, Nilmar is the one chosen to be sacrificed. Corinthians agree to take him on loan, paying Lyon €2m, with an option to buy for another €8m.
May 2006: Nilmar ends the year as the best striker in the Brasileiro. Corinthians decide to make his loan permanent.
September 2006: Not receiving payment, Lyon attempt to work out the situation with Corinthians.
October 2006: For the first time, Lyon evoke the possibility of Nilmar’s return since his transfer fee wasn’t forthcoming.
December 2007: Lyon take the matter to FIFA.
January 2007: FIFA rule in Lyon’s favor. Corinthians must pay Lyon. Corinthians appeal.
June 2007: The Court of Arbitration for Sport delay their verdict due to new information.
July 2007: The Court of Arbitration for Sport uphold FIFA’s original ruling.

Related Offside posts:

Eduardo Ratinho to Lyon
Another Scandal
How Nilmar and MSI Misled Lyon

News:

Lyon sign Toulalan as Nilmar goes
Nilmar Threatening Corinthians Exit
Nilmar Agent Threatens Lawsuit
Houllier Rejects Nilmar Return
Nilmar’s agent is banished from football
Lyon Lodge Protest With FIFA
FIFA order Corinthians to pay €8 million
Lyon Praise FIFA Decision On Nilmar And Warn Corinthians
Corinthians Try to Avoid Paying Lyon
Nilmar Tries to Stay Away from the Fight between Corinthians and Lyon
Olympique Lyonnais Press Release
Corinthians and MSI Under Federal Investigation
Brazil’s Federal Justice Asks for the Arrests of MSI Honchos
Corinthians Think About Appealing Again

Some Related Lyon Posts:

Category: Former Lyonnais, Team News and Rumors, Transfers

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Fabio

Nilmar is a great player as well as William, he is playing very well at Corinthians. William has been thinking abount going abroad, likely he goes as well as most young Brazilian players, unfortunately.
Who knows well about Brazilian football can tell any Brazilian team cannot pay a one-off 8m, however I believe all Corinthians players have been receiving their income, though not on time, otherwise, let's take William as example, he would have already left Corinthians.
Do not see Brazilian teams as a players suppliers only, they need investments to give chances to other players come up. In this way would be harder for a external team hire a Brasilian player, so Brazil would have stronger championships.
Go Corinthians!
Corey

http://www.dailymotion.com/rel...

Benzema's goal was great, Mounier's was nice too. Govou had both assists, seems like he is gonna push for a spot this year, while bodmer, toulalan and diarra played in the midfield together, which makes me think Perrin really does need another central midfielder to backup Bodmer. Mounier supposively played well, and during the first goal celebrations you can clearly see govou and remy on the field at the same time, but ben arfa is out there too, so i think govou was used as a striker with benzema and this is before diarra was brought on?
Corey

Jean Micheal has said Alou Diarra is definately staying, its july so no one except wiltord will be leaving now. Diarra turned down Portsmouth and Bordeuax, while Bremen was turned down by Auluas because of the klose situation. interesting
Corey

Missuer Lacombe is not to be trusted in Brazil, if Sonny and Marcelo Dijon like him then i would say fine, we will take willian. but id rather have renato augusto. willian is actually a DM/CM, pretty much fabio santos all over again. I am not in favor of him though, he was poor against Spain, he actually took Renato Augusto's spot which means Brazil became more defensive and thats why they got hammered by Spain. Welcome Corbin, I wonder how many people read what Inara writes and we all talk about but never post?
Corbin

i decided to stop lurking and comment for once. and also to commend you for this fine blog that I check daily.

here's something i picked up in one of those nilmar links:

Nilmar also warned that things are going wrong in the club as was shown by the way that both Carlitos Tevez and Javier Mascherano left the club – as well as veteran midfielder Marcelinho Carioca. “I’m going out through the front door with my head held high if it comes to that; not via the back door being shuffled out silently and mysteriously.”

is Nilmar owned by the guy who owns Tevez? because even though I could go without the shady transfer dealings, i would love to see nilmar in england showcasing his talents. obviously hes very talented, but i just dont want him to become disinterested by the mess that is Corinthians.

and who is that William player that Lyon is targeting?
Corey

Spot on Inara. Its to bad because he had so much potential, if you ever watch highlights of him as an 18 year old at inter or with corinthians on his loan he was incredible, he simply couldnt be touched or knocked down. he bagged 20+ goals. his problem in lyon was that he was young, and away from home. le guen loved his talent, but didnt play him as a striker, preferig to play him as a right winger in backup of govou and that was not his natural position really, although he has been listed as a Right Foward ever since then. He is a striker that combines speed and skill, and can play by himself. It was just a bad situation he found himself in, and im disappointed because i knew he was gonna be great someday, but now he may never play at that level again. 1 cap, 1 goal aint bad either
AJ

Hey, thanks for the welcome and yea Lyon have quite a couple of ex-Cruzeiro players, including Fred, we could use him these days. One of the reasons I started coming to this site, even though I know nothing about Lyon, is because of your blog. It's great and so detailed like this post ^.