Received a claim of 30 million! Portuguese media: Inter won the lawsuit and settled the transfer dispute with Sporting CP over Mario

On October 18, Portuguese media reported that the transfer dispute between Inter Milan and Sporting CP regarding the player Joao Mario has been completely resolved.

This years-long legal dispute originated in 2021. Joao Mario moved to Inter Milan from Sporting CP for €45 million in 2016. The contract contained a clause that required Inter to pay Sporting CP €30 million if he sold him to another competitor in Portugal. In 2021, in order to circumvent this clause, Inter Milan chose to terminate the contract with Mario early, and then Mario joined Sporting CP's arch-rival Benfica as a free agent.

Sports Portugal filed a lawsuit against FIFA in this regard, claiming 30 million euros, but its claim was rejected by FIFA in 2023. Subsequently, Sporting CP appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but ultimately upheld the original decision and ruled in favor of Inter Milan. Since Sporting CP did not appeal again within the stipulated time limit, Inter Milan has now officially settled the case.

It is worth noting that although the ruling was in favor of Inter Milan, the Court of Arbitration for Sport also specifically pointed out in its judgment that the "economic logic" of the deal was puzzling. The outside world did not understand why Inter Milan would rather let the players go for free than accept the previous offer made by Sporting CP.