Football
ESPN staff 9y

Orlando City SC end Ganso talks, confirm lawsuit against Sao Paulo

Orlando City have broken off negotiations with Sao Paulo for midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso, and have announced they are suing the Brazilian outfit for non-payment of money owed in the loan deal that sent Kaka to Brazil last year.

The MLS franchise confirmed the end of negotiations, and subsequent lawsuit, via statement on Thursday morning.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Orlando City had filed a lawsuit this week seeking to recover around $4.35 million owed as part of the loan deal that sent Kaka, who was under contract with OCSC, back to Sao Paulo last fall.

Ganso, who played with Kaka in Sao Paulo, was to be a compensation deal in return for Orlando City cancelling the money owed by the Tricolor, with the debt amount to be used as part of the 25-year-old's transfer fee.

All hopes of an accord ended, however, when Sao Paulo missed Orlando's imposed Thursday deadline, which the MLS club confirmed with their morning statement.

"Orlando City Soccer Club closes negotiations for Paulo Henrique Ganso due to lack of response from Sao Paulo FC by the specified deadline," it read.

"The Club will pursue a collection lawsuit for the non-payment of all the commitments owed by Sao Paulo FC as part of the loan deal of the player Kaka. No further comments will be issued on this matter."

^ Back to Top ^