Did ‘demands’ for a helicopter, private beach scupper Gervinho’s contract?
Both Gervais Yao Kouassi and the UAE club denied the rumors
The transfer of Roma’s forward Gervais Yao Kouassi to Abu Dhabi’s al-Jazira has been cancelled with allegations that he requested a helicopter and private beach as part of the deal.
According to Sky Sports, the Ivory Coast player was due to leave the Serie A club and join Al-Jazira this week on a reported four-year deal worth around $14.3mln.
But the move collapsed following reports that Gervais, commonly known as Gervinho, had extravagant demands.
Commenting on the reports, the former Arsenal player said: “I don't normally comment on transfer rumors but today some people have gone too far.”
“I deny all the reports relating to any transfer,” he added on his Twitter account.
The UAE club also denied the rumors saying that it stopped negotiating with the player due to “technical details.”
“We confirm that we stopped negotiating with Gervinho but this was purely because of technical details and not because of the player's demands, as reported by some online sources,” the club said in a statement.
Gervinho joined Roma for $9 million in 2013 from Premier League side Arsenal.
