The future of Hwang In-beom is still in the labyrinth.

Greek ‘Sports Dog’ said on the 23rd (Korean time), “The case of Hwang In-beom remains a mystery at Olympiacos. Hwang In-beom insists on leaving as a free agent or with a low transfer fee. However, Olympiacos It was reported that Hwang In-beom made it clear that he would stay with the team and train here if he could not bring in an offer for a transfer fee exceeding 10 million euros (approximately 14.5 billion won).”안전놀이터

It was in mid-August that the issue of Hwang In-beom’s whereabouts arose. At the time, Greece’s ‘Erz Sports’ reported, “Hwang In-beom officially expressed his desire to leave Olympiacos. There were two years left in the contract, but Hwang In-beom requested an immediate transfer, so he was excluded from the list even in the match against Genk.” did.

“Olympiacos adheres to the principle that no one is above the team. They are angry with Hwang In-beom and are willing to go to court. Hwang In-beom has a contract with Olympiacos until June 2025. This is by no means a simple matter.” added.

Greek media criticized Hwang In-beom for his sudden transfer request. He said the reason was that a player who signed a 3-year contract until 2025 was suddenly claiming 1 + 2 years. As a result of the confirmation, Hwang In-beom’s claim was true. Hwang In-beom was claiming he could leave as a free agent because he didn’t trigger the 2-year extension clause on his 1+2 year contract.

The cause of the problem, in which the club and the player understand the contract situation differently, has not yet been revealed. Currently, it is speculated that it is a problem in the process of interpreting the special rules implemented by the International Football Federation (FIFA) due to the Russian-Ukrainian war situation.

In March 2022, after the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, FIFA allowed foreign players belonging to the Russian and Ukrainian leagues to temporarily suspend their contracts for one year. Accordingly, Hwang In-beom joined FC Seoul, and three months later promoted a European transfer.

In June 2022, FIFA extended the temporary suspension of contracts for foreign clubs in Russia and Ukraine for another year. Hwang In-beom was contracted with Rubin Kazan until June 2023, so the contract with Rubin Kazan was deemed terminated due to additional measures, and he was able to transfer to Olympiacos as a free agent.

Same with Manor Solomon, who joined Tottenham this summer. Solomon was also originally contracted to Shakhtar Donetsk until December 31, 2023, but he could transfer as a free agent according to special rules of FIFA. However, confusion arose in the situation of signing a contract with Olympiacos, and it seems that the two sides have different opinions in the process of interpreting it.

In conclusion, if the 1+2 contract is true, Olympiacos has no contractual effect to capture Hwang In-beom. However, since Olympiacos claims to have signed a three-year contract with Hwang In-beom, it seems that they are sticking to their position that they will not sell without a transfer fee.

The transfer fee Olympiacos wants is also making Hwang In-beom more difficult. A transfer fee of 10 million euros is a very high transfer fee for a Greek league player. Of the players who have left the Greek league since 2020, only two have recorded a transfer fee of 10 million euros or more.

All of them are Costas Tsimikas and Christos Cholis, who transferred to Premier League (EPL) clubs. Clubs in other leagues other than the EPL are still in a very difficult financial situation after Corona 19. Spending over 10 million euros is easier said than done.