Bruma out of Sporting, says lawyer

Did you want to hear more about the wacky tale of Sporting Lisbon winger Bruma? I bet you did. Both the 18-year-old and his representatives have been speaking to the press about the weird contract dispute that's seen Sporting fans accused of attempted kidnap. Hint: He's not planning on staying with his current club.

Now Bruma heads totally out of Sporting. If the case goes through the courts, no problem

-Bebiano Gomes, Bruma's lawyer.

I deeply regret the outcome of this matter. I did everything to stay at Sporting and I made it clear to my representatives to try to reach an agreement. But after all this time, Sporting did little for me to renew.

I want to avoid any sort of controversy with Sporting and especially with the fans. I am a professional and I will continue my career.

-Bruma. Source: A Bola via The Sport Review

If Bruma becomes a free agent it should be pretty easy to sign him up. Chelsea are rumoured to be his preferred target, and it's not as though he'll come with obscene wage demands. I know there's some worry about the mess he finds himself in (and I'm somewhat at a loss to figure out how there can be any ambiguity over when his contract expires -- don't these things get kept somewhere safe?), but how much of that is his fault is impossible to say, at it'd be a bit rich to condemn him for being in his current situation when we don't really know how he got there.

Bear in mind that FIFA could easily rule in Sporting's favour, at which point Chelsea would have to pay a transfer fee and compete with the likes of Galatasaray, who at least reckoning had a bid 300 percent higher than the one we offered. Not knowing much of the legal details here it's difficult to say which direction this will go, but I'd guess that the free agent route is most beneficial for us if we really want him.