UAE - Diego Maradona's time in charge of Fujairah may have finally come to an end with the club announcing on Thursday night that contract negotiations had come to a halt with the Argentine legend.

The club issued a statement on their twitter handle that they had stopped negotiations after Maradona's lawyer demanded four-times the value of the current contract.

"As per the instructions of the Fujairah FC chairman, the club had entered into negotiations with Maradona to renew his contract and he agreed. The contract will have the same conditions and terms of the current one. Maradona promised that he will come the next day to undertake training for the team and sign the contract. Maradona also confirmed that he would be coming by sending voice notes to the players. Hours later, Maradona's lawyer stepped in and suspended the negotiations and demanded four-fold of the value of Maradona's current contract. And the lawyer prevented anybody from communicating with Maradona even through his private translator. Therefore, we announce that we suspend negotiations with Maradona and wish him the best of luck," the club said in their statement.

Maradona and Fujairah have been in the news over the past few days after the 1986 World Cup winner failed to guide the First Division club to automatic qualification for the Arabian Gulf League next season.

Hours after The Wolves were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Khor Fakkan last Friday, his lawyer Matias Morla said that Maradona and Fujairah had parted ways by mutual consent. But there was to be further confusion as Fujairah said on Monday that the club had renewed his contract for another year, which Morla disputed by saying: "Before different versions that are circulating, I want to clarify that Maradona did not renew his contract with Fujairah."

Maradona, who waswas appointed in May last year had done exceedingly well with not a single defeat during the entire campaign. Fujairah had won 11 and drew 11 of the 22 fixtures but it was the last draw which proved to be costly for The Wolves.

The current saga leaves The Wolves without a coach with less than a week to go for their relegation play-off against Hatta. Fujairah will take on The Hurricanes over twin legs on May 9 and 13 with the winners earning a ticket to the UAE top flight.

 

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