Campbell sues Portsmouth for unpaid dues
Club owe former captain £1.7 million
London : Sol Campbell is suing Portsmouth for £1.7 million (Dh10 million) in allegedly unpaid image rights fees and bonuses.
Their former captain, 35, claims the cash-strapped club owe him £1.67 million, plus more than £60,000 in interest.
Just as West Ham's dire financial situation was exposed by new owner David Sullivan on Tuesday, Portsmouth's recklessness has been laid bare by the details of Campbell's writ, which was lodged with the High Court earlier this month.
It claims Portsmouth agreed to pay Campbell £20,000 a week for the first year and £30,000 for the last two years of his contract, to use his image in commercial, sponsorship and endorsement deals.
These payments almost doubled Campbell's reported basic salary of £30,000 a week.
Extra wages
In addition, Campbell should allegedly have received a £500,000 bonus for making 25 appearances in Premier League and FA Cup games in 2008-09 and an extra month's wages (around £130,000) because he was not signed by another club within a month of his contract ending in June 2009. Campbell did not join Notts County, for whom he went on to make just one appearance, until August of last year.
Portsmouth had allegedly agreed to pay Campbell's image rights fees and bonuses into a trust fund in Geneva, Switzerland, in lump sums twice a year. His writ claims he received his payments on time for the first two seasons of the deal, which came to £2.6 million.
The problems began in December 2008, after Portsmouth's main creditor, Standard Bank, demanded a £30 million loan be paid in full.
Campbell's writ alleges the first instalment of the 2008-09 contract — a £520,000 payment due on December 31, 2008 — was not paid until January 28, 2009, along with more than £3,000 in interest.
The writ then claims the defender, who is now back at former club Arsenal, has yet to be paid the £1.67 million he was allegedly owed as a final instalment, which he should have received by the end of June.
Portsmouth confirmed the receipt of the writ and a club spokesman said: "The matter is being dealt with by our lawyers."
The details of Campbell's legal action come after Portsmouth failed to have a winding-up order issued by Revenue and Customs thrown out at the High Court on Tuesday.
— Daily Mail
