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Leeds lodge immediate appeal after being ordered by FIFA to pay £24.5m directly to flop

Jean-Kevin Augustin at Leeds United

FIFA has told Leeds United they must make a payment of £24.5million to their former striker Jean-Kevin Augustin, though the Premier League club have appealed the verdict.

Leeds and Augustin have a complicated story together. The striker originally joined the club on loan from RB Leipzig in January 2020. However, he only went on to make three substitute appearances for the club before his loan spell ended, without him ever scoring for the side.

As part of the original agreement with RB Leipzig, Leeds had an obligation to buy Augustin if they earned promotion to the Premier League. Ultimately, they managed it, though they disputed the clause’s significance after the season extended beyond the expiry of the attacker’s loan due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After cases with FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Leeds had to pay RB Leipzig a settlement fee of around £15.5m in November 2022, being able to do so in instalments. It was a reduction on the original £18m or €21m agreement, but still not an ideal situation for Leeds.

Now, another financial blow has emerged from the Augustin saga. As reported by David Ornstein for The Athletic, FIFA has demanded Leeds to pay the player himself for a breach of contract.

Augustin is due to receive £24.5m (€27.9m) from Leeds after making a case to the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, whose findings were partially in his favour.

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Leeds United appeal latest Jean-Kevin Augustin setback

Once again, Leeds have appealed against the decision. While the legal matter is ongoing, they are not commenting on the case.

Augustin would have earned around €90,000 per week over a five-year contract as a permanent Leeds player, so is now looking for compensation.

Hence, for the full package between payments to RB Leipzig and the player, Leeds may end up having to pay £40m.

Since his spell at Elland Road ended, Augustin spent two seasons with Nantes before joining Basel on a free transfer last summer.

He never scored in 11 appearances for Nantes, but has four goals to his name from 18 Basel appearances to date. He is now 25 years old and is contracted with the Swiss side until 2025.

Leeds moved on from Augustin up front by signing Rodrigo Moreno in 2020, Wilfried Gnonto in 2022 and Georginio Rutter in 2023.

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