Viktor Gyokeres furious with Sporting and will refuse to return to the club

Viktor Gyokeres has grown frustrated with his sluggish exit from Sporting Lisbon and is ready to take matters into his own hands as Manchester United and Arsenal wait

Viktor Gyokeres will refuse to return to Sporting Lisbon this summer in an attempt to force through a transfer. Things have turned increasingly sour between the Swedish striker and his current club, who are dragging their feet over his exit in an attempt to extract the best transfer fee possible.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas has been extremely vocal recently about the bitter saga in an attempt to keep supporters onside. At the centre of the dispute is an apparent gentleman's agreement, made between Gyokeres and the club hierarchy, that he would be allowed to leave for less than his official release clause.

Gyokeres has made it clear that this summer is his time to leave Lisbon in search of new opportunities and a higher level of football. He plundered 53 goals and 13 assists in 51 games across the 2024/25 season, helping Sporting win the league and cup double, and feels he should be afforded some good will.

Sporting have granted Gyokeres an extra week off before he is due to report for pre-season, but Portuguese newspaper Record says he has no intention of showing up.

The 27-year-old is fed up with the situation and has personally told Varandas that he feels betrayed and therefore won’t play ball. He has also threatened to speak publicly to give his side of the story.

Gyokeres has been a target of both Manchester United and Arsenal, who previously saw an offer of £55m rejected by Sporting. But with United moving for Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and Arsenal preferring RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, there has been little movement in recent weeks.

That has left Gyokeres frustrated, with the former Coventry man wanting to get a move sorted as soon as possible. Things have deteriorated and, when he does leave, it will be under a cloud, with Varandas refusing to back down.

"Sporting is calm regarding this matter," he said. "Secondly, Sporting does not need to sell Viktor Gyökeres. Fortunately, we have moved past the phase of selling our main asset.

"However, we remain sensitive to Viktor’s dreams or those of any other athlete. Sporting has made a commitment that, after weeks of meetings, we will not demand the full amount of the clause; we will be reasonable regarding the amount requested for Viktor.

"Today, there is a strong likelihood that he will leave. I won’t disclose the amount, but the player knows what it is. I can say that Viktor will not leave for 60+10m. He won’t leave, absolutely not.

"We have been watching the market and I saw [Martin] Zubimendi, who is six months younger than Viktor, leave for €65million. I saw Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, both forwards but who, in my opinion, do not have Viktor's market value or quality, being negotiated for around €75million.

"Given the demands we consider fair, I believe Viktor could leave – unless he has the worst agent in the world, which is hard for me to believe, because he is one of the best footballers in the world."