Young central defender Juma Bah paid his own buyout fee just three weeks after signing a contract with Valladolid.
The Juma Bah case hit Real Valladolid like a lead balloon. The 18-year-old central defender from Sierra Leone appeared with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) with his buyout fee, effectively terminating the contract he signed with the Pucelanos a few weeks ago.
On Tuesday afternoon, the player and his agent informed Valladolid of their intention to unilaterally terminate the contract. Juma's ties with the club ended this morning when he visited RFEF's headquarters in Madrid to deposit the six million euros ($6.25 million) needed to trigger the termination clause.
Interest in Juma Bah from the Serie A and the Premier League
Several European clubs have shown interest in Juma Bah this season – in England, Newcastle United and Leicester City, as well as City, Inter Milan in Serie A, Fenerbahçe in Turkey and Real Madrid, who have close ties to Valladolid through Ronaldo Nazário. also monitored his progress.
According to Valladolid, Juma's loan contract from AIK Freetown was signed last August and was set to expire on June 30, 2025. However, the contract also included a purchase option clause that the club activated on January 1, 2025. The full details of that contract are not known, but it is believed that the terms were unchanged and the player still held a U-19 license, not a professional license.
Meanwhile, City planned to sign Juma Bah in January but send him out on loan to gain game time and experience.
The player's decision to break his contract and join City has infuriated Valladolid's management, who “received Juma Bah with open arms and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime”.
The Spanish club adds that it will explore legal and sporting avenues to defend its interests.
Valladolid's statement on Juma Bah
“Yesterday afternoon, Abdulai Juma Bah and his agent informed Real Valladolid of his intention to unilaterally break the contract that binds both parties. Before that, Manchester City sent a statement the same afternoon asking to open negotiations with Real Valladolid about a possible permanent transfer of the player. Today the player decided not to show up for the morning training. For the above reasons, the Club holds the player responsible for failure to comply with his contractual obligations and has requested its Legal Department to take disciplinary action.
“The Club believes that following the player's decision lies with Manchester City, owned by City Football Group, who appear to have advised the player to follow a path that has placed Real Valladolid in a situation of defenselessness.
So what happens next? Retention clauses are included in contracts to prevent players from leaving clubs while protecting the entities that hold the ownership rights of outside players. Players can buy themselves out of their contract by paying a tax-free amount agreed in the retention clause.
It means that if a player pays his own buyout and leaves, the club at least gets some form of compensation.
City have been busy in the winter period, signing 19-year-old Brazilian defender Vitor Reis from Palmeiras, who this week signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for $30.75 million. The club signed Uzbek international defender Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for $33.86 million.
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