Cardiff City Football Club announced Tuesday that they have successfully thwarted left-back Joel Bagan’s impending departure, locking the 22-year-old into a multi-year contract just before his current deal expired.
CARDIFF, Wales — Cardiff City Football Club announced Tuesday that they have successfully intercepted left-back Joel Bagan, legally binding the 22-year-old to the premises just weeks before he was scheduled to walk away as a free agent. The long-term contract extension ensures the defender cannot flee South Wales without another club paying a seven-figure ransom to the Cardiff board.
Bagan, whose previous deal was set to expire next month, was reportedly dangerously close to realizing he could just walk out the front doors of the Cardiff City Stadium and offer his services to an organization with a functional midfield. By securing his signature at the eleventh hour, the club avoids the financial indignity of losing an asset for nothing.
It was a close call, but we managed to slide a legally binding document in front of him before he reached the perimeter fence. You simply cannot let a depreciating asset walk out the door without extracting a modest development fee from a desperate League One side.
The new long-term deal guarantees Bagan will spend the prime years of his athletic career fighting for mid-table mediocrity in the EFL Championship. Club officials confirmed the paperwork provides the board with the much-needed security of knowing they hold the exclusive rights to inevitably sell him to a slightly richer club the moment a lucrative transfer window opens.
League insiders noted that the negotiations were highly competitive, mostly involving executives convincing Bagan that leaving on a free transfer is deeply disrespectful to the ownership group that purchased him. Bagan is expected to celebrate his renewed commitment by starting on the bench for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup fixture.