Maradona makes up with Al Wasl

Dubai Diego Maradona's threat to sever his ties with Al Wasl and Dubai seems to have been put on hold, temporarily at least, following a lengthy meeting between the football legend and club officials late on Wednesday.

Sources within the club told Gulf News that, after nearly three hours of deliberations, the coach and management seemed to have arrived at an agreement "to compromise on certain tickly aspects" that Maradona sees as impediments to Al Wasl's progress.

The Argentinian boss has twice threatened to quit unless he is given more funds to spend on his squad following a disappointing first season in the UAE.

"It was a friendly meeting and both parties were more than cordial while discussing issues that have been raised by Maradona in recent weeks," the source said.

"No one knows what was promised or what was planned, keeping the future of the club in mind during the meeting. But it is reassuring to have him [Maradona] looking ahead optimistically."

The club released a statement yesterday, saying: "Diego Maradona has discussed a number of issues with the club management and a strategic plan for next season has been identified.

Reassuring

"The Al Wasl coach has acknowledged that his recent outbursts were not in the best interests of the team and that he understands the club's disappointment. But, as a reassuring measure, he has reaffirmed that he will not be leaving Al Wasl under any circumstances and that he will respect his contract that runs until the end of next season.

"Following the success of the meeting, it was decided that further discussions will be held to study the needs of the team, along with future signings within the allocated budget."

Wednesday's meeting was led by Marwan Bin Byat, Chairman of Al Wasl Football Company, and also attending were Suwaidan Al Naboudah, Vice-Chairman, Abdullah Al Bishr, Acting CEO, Dr Mohammad Bin Fahd, Chairman of Al Wasl Sports Club, and board members Fahd Khamis and Abdullah Al Ashram.

"It looks as though there has been a compromise from both sides while keeping the future of Al Wasl at heart. There were several issues being raised by Maradona during his public appearances both in and out of the UAE and the management saw the need to sort these out in an amicable manner," the Al Wasl source said.

Maradona's latest outburst came in England following Monday's clash between Manchester City and Manchester United, where the Argentine again accused his club of not releasing sufficient funds to realise the dreams of Al Wasl.

Earlier this week it was revealed the club had already targeted Marcello Lippi and Gianfranco Zola to replace Maradona should he leave.