Pau Lopez is at the center of a failed transfer. After an official presentation at RC Lens, the goalkeeper has to remain on loan at FC Girona for the time being. His parent club Olympique Marseille provides clarification.
After Pau Lopez had only made one appearance for Girona since his loan move last summer, all parties agreed to terminate the loan early and to enable the Spaniard to make a second loan move to Lens in France. The latter officially presented the new signing on Tuesday – and had to delete the announcement the following day.
Pau Lopez successfully passes medical check
In a detailed letter on Thursday, Pau Lopez’s parent club Olympique Marseille explained how this curious transfer saga came about. The Ligue 1 runners-up confirmed that they had sent a “draft of the agreement to prematurely terminate the temporary loan” to Girona on Tuesday afternoon. While OM waited for written confirmation from the Spanish side, the keeper completed the obligatory medical check in Lens.
All well and good, had it not been for a series of unfortunate coincidences. The main culprits: the press departments of the two French clubs and Lucas Garcia – Girona FC’s 20-year-old backup goalkeeper.
Lens announces transfer “without legal confirmation”
“Despite the absence of a final commitment from all parties” – Girona’s final commitment was still outstanding – ‘the communications departments of RC Lens and OM, in view of their regular collaboration, decided to announce the arrival of the Spanish goalkeeper at RC Lens,’ the statement said. “This premature announcement, initiated by RC Lens, was made without any legal confirmation and was therefore quickly deleted by OM.”
Girona, meanwhile, had informed the Marseille club on Tuesday evening that they would return the agreement to end the loan early “that same evening or the next morning”. The response finally arrived on Wednesday, but it was not what Marseille and Lens had expected.
OM regrets “unprecedented situation”
Since Girona third-choice goalkeeper Lucas Garcia, named on the Champions League squad list, had sustained an injury, the La Liga team objected to the early termination of the loan. Instead, the Catalans said they wanted to wait for their Champions League clash with AC Milan on January 22 (9 p.m.) before the loan termination could finally be implemented.
“An unacceptable condition” for Lens, which sees an urgent need for action at the goalkeeper position due to the sale of first goalkeeper Brice Samba and consequently withdrew from the negotiations for Pau Lopez. Marseille, meanwhile, regrets ‘this unprecedented situation and the impossibility for Pau Lopez’ to complete the second half of the season in the Lens jersey.
