In a major setback ahead of the all-important semi-final against FC Goa on Friday, Delhi Dynamos' player cum manager Roberto Carlos announced that he would be stepping down at the end of the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL) season.
Carlos dropped the bomb a day before first leg of Delhi's semi-final here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium against the team managed by another legend, Zico.
"I won't be returning next year. Thanks a lot for all the love and support," Carlos, who is allegedly leaving over a pay dispute with the Delhi management, said. "If you perform well, then you get many good offers...Delhi Dynamos have performed very well this season. Hence, I got offers from a number of clubs."
Reports have been rife about other Brazilian players in the Delhi squad also having contractual disagreements with the management, but Carlos refused to divulge any such details.
"I still have not decided where I will be joining. I won't be here next season," he said, before urging that the focus should be on the matches ahead for Delhi than him leaving. "I just want to speak about the ISL. I still have three matches to go here."
Delhi management, led by president Prashant Agarwal, did best to dismiss reports of dispute as just a rumour.
"There is no dispute in our camp. We sit here together as one family. There is only one goal for us, which is to win the trophy. We don't care about what people say about us. If people want to keep writing something which is not true and not the fact, they are most welcome to do so. We will listen to all positives and all negatives. We want to make it loud and clear that no negatives affect this camp," Agarwal said.
But the president refused to unwrap any details about the players' pay-cheques.
"This is something which remains in the family," he said.
Comments
0 comment