FC Goa have reached an agreement with ATK Mohun Bagan over the move of Head Coach Juan Ferrando to the City of Joy. The 40-year-old Spaniard is set to roughly earn twice the salary he received at his former club.
The Mariners paid a huge buyout clause of approximately 1 crore rupees to pry him away from their project.
The Kolkata-based club held initial talks with Albert Roca which failed to progress as the former Bengaluru FC boss is not interested to return to India at this point.
ATK Mohun Bagan wasted little to no time to get the deal over the line within a day of Two-time ISL-winning coach Antonio Lopez Habas stepping down as the team’s manager and being relieved of his duties by the club.
Club President Akshay Tandon posted a statement on Twitter saying, “With disappointment I’d like to confirm that Juan Ferrando has triggered his release clause, obliging us to release him of his duties so that he can join ATK Mohun Bagan FC. As long the money gets deposited in our accounts, we do not have a choice in his decision.”
He further added, “Poaching our coaches, staff, and players is fair game but I hope better sense and sportsmanship prevails in the future. We would have at least liked the opportunity to inform our squad ourselves. To our fans, I’d like to say, ‘Do not worry.’ This will in fact make us stronger.”
ATK Mohun Bagan are on a 4 match winless run, picking up just 2 points from a possible 12. The management has laid their trust in Ferrando, who has traditionally had a very different footballing philosophy from that of previous coach Habas. It remains to be seen whether Juan can reinvigorate the star-studded team to aim higher in the points table.
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