BRAZILIAN Club World Cup star Lucas Ribeiro Costa is looking to become the first player to benefit from the Lassana Diarra ruling.
Ribeiro starred for South African side Mamelodi Sundowns at the Club World Cup this summer and won the goal of the tournament award for his goal against Borussia Dortmund in the group stage.
But the 26-year-old has now terminated his contract with the club and is looking to be the first player to benefit from Diarra’s legal victory against Fifa.
In a long-running landmark case concluding last October, Diarra, 40, won a case in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling that some of Fifa’s transfer rules broke European Union laws.
The former France midfielder had challenged the governing body when he was blocked from pursuing a transfer to Belgian side Charleroi in 2015, after terminating his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow a year earlier.
Fifa had refused to provide him with an international transfer certificate (ITC) for the proposed move, which Diarra challenged and won with the courts stating the rules “impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club”.
He has since restarted legal proceedings over a £56million compensation package, while Fifa has amended its transfer regulations.
Ribeiro is now looking to be the first player to use this ruling to his advantage after Qatari outfit Qatar SC made an offer to sign him “well above the player’s valuation”.
He has referred his case to world football’s governing body after accusing his club of acting in an “unreasonable manner”.
The midfielder is being represented by Belgian lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont, who won the 1995 case involving Jean-Marc Bosman – the Bosman ruling – and is representing Diarra.
Mamelodi Sundowns have been accused of attempting to “drive up the price” of the player again and again, “without any regard for the player’s personal interests, which made the deal impossible”.
The legal documents outline that Ribeiro terminated his contract on August 1.
His deal was due to expire in 2028, but with the deal being blocked by the club, Ribeiro said he has “no other choice” than to defend his interests at a Fifa tribunal.
The former Charleroi and Beveren star is willing to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or a state court after being made aware of interest from some European clubs.
Ribeiro said: “Following the Diarra ruling by the CJEU, there is no doubt that the dispute between me and my former club will not prevent me from continuing my career with peace of mind.”
“Indeed, following its own regulations (as amended in light of the Diarra judgement), Fifa will see to it that the international transfer certificate be immediately delivered upon request by my future employer.
“I will now consider what is best for the future of my career in order to make the right choice.
“As a reminder, following the Diarra ruling, my next employer will not be involved in the dispute between me and Mamelodi Sundowns, neither from a disciplinary perspective nor financially.”
The case could be the first domino to fall in what could be the biggest change in football for 30 years.
Earlier this summer, SunSport looked at how players could soon be able to buy out their contracts and make mega transfer fees and sagas – as seen with Alexander Isak – a thing of the past.
Major agents claimed the October ruling was the first step towards a US-style “free agency” for players, with stars only liable to pay the balance of their contracts when they switch clubs.
Top clubs and Fifa have battled to resist such a move, but in June FifPro told stars and their lawyers to be ready to test Fifa’s failure to react and use European law to push for freedom of movement.
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