Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis now faces a formal arbitration challenge after admitting he rejected significantly higher bids for Andre Luiz before completing an internal transfer worth €6.5m (£5.6m). report comes from renaissance In portugal.
The Brazilian winger moved to Olympiacos from Rio Ave in January. Both clubs are located within Marinakis' multi-club structure. However, the situation has worsened after Estrela da Amadora confirmed it will take the matter to Portuguese court. The controversy centers on price.
Marinakis told Olympiacos players that he had received offers of around €20m (£17.1m) for Andre Luiz from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Benfica. Despite this, they decided to transfer the player from Rio Ave to Olympiacos for €6.5m (£5.6m).
"I had offers of around €20m for Andre Luiz from Wolves and Benfica. But I wanted Olympiacos to be stronger." He said, As we covered earlier.
10% segment takes legal steps
Estrela da Amadora have 10% of the future transfer fee for Andre Luiz. Therefore, the difference between €20m and €6.5m has major financial consequences.
In a statement, Estrella raised "Serious and legitimate concerns" About the transaction. The club said that if higher offers had indeed existed, selling at a lower amount would have directly reduced the revenue to which they were entitled.
The statement also questioned whether the economic interests of Rio Avenue and its contractual partners are fully protected.
Estrella further argued that multi-club ownership “Under no circumstances can transparency, economic fairness, the protection of third parties involved in the contract or the credibility of national competitions be compromised.”
The club has now confirmed it will seek arbitration. It will also request full access to documents related to the operation. Furthermore, the right to report public facts to the relevant authorities is reserved if further investigation proves necessary.
Multi-club model in the spotlight
Marinakis controls Nottingham Forest, Rio Ave and Olympiacos. In this case, they rejected a Premier League-level bid and instead strengthened the Greek side internally.
The move could make sense for Olympiacos. However, it now places its ownership structure in Portugal under legal scrutiny.
For One, the issue does not involve direct transactions. Nevertheless, the controversy continues to affect their owner and raises wider questions about governance within the multi-club network.
It is unclear whether the arbitration process will have financial consequences. It is confirmed that the €20m Premier League rejected bid has now triggered a formal legal battle.
