The midfielder of Esperance de Tunis, Raouf Benguit, has decided to leave the club without the approval of his management. Still under contract with the Tunisian club until 2023, the former academician decided to break his contract unilaterally. A decision that has not been to the liking of his leaders who intend to take the necessary steps against the player. The Tunisian club’s management has warned Benguit, as well as the clubs that are interested in recruiting him, that he will not be able to attend training. In a statement published by the official account of ES Tunis we can read the following text “The player Abderraouf Benguit has just notified the club of his decision to unilaterally terminate his contract. He left his teammates on Monday. Faced with the illegal and abusive nature of this surprising act, the club has decided to refer the matter to the competent authorities to defend its rights against the player and against any club that may have incited him to commit his withdrawal.”
According to concordant sources, the dispute is centred on unpaid salaries which amount to four months.
But Benguit‘s “malaise” goes back several months and does not date from this week. Since his altercation with former coach Mouine Chaabani, the talented Algerian with a strong character has felt left out of the group and has not found the comfort and consideration he was looking for. Despite some very convincing outings at the end of the season (witness his return match against CR Belouizded), Benguit was very determined to leave the club and made this known to his entourage.
Since the arrival of Radhi Jaidi at the head of the club, things have changed for the better and the player has shown a lot of willingness to join this new project. But things have accelerated in the last few days with the interest of PAOK Salonika for the player.
According to our information, the Greek club made a first offer to Esperance for the Algerian player. This offer was (directly) refused by the Esperance management. But faced with the insistence of the player, the club asked for €1.2 million to sell the player, which PAOK accepted. It was at this point that events changed with only a few hours left in the mercato. The EST refuses the offer of PAOK and finally asks for 2 million euros, Benguit understands that Esperance has placed the bar high to block his departure and goes out of his mind.
Abderraouf Benguit has decided to leave for Algeria and unilaterally terminate the contract binding him to Esperance Sportive de Tunis. According to our information, if the financial situation of the player with the EST is almost perfect, some salaries would not be paid (see part of his bonuses) and we can expect a long soap opera of FIFA on this file. Benguit knows it very well: he will be exposed to a heavy sanction going from 6 months to one year following his act, if he does not present the evidence justifying his unilateral breach of contract. Only the days to come will tell us more!
To be continued…
