Frederico Varandas has taken a position on the Swedish striker after his decision not to report to training.
The 'Gyökeres soap opera' is far from over. This Saturday, the Swedish striker made good on his threat to skip preseason training with Sporting as a means of putting pressure on his departure from the Lisbon club.
Despite the Scandinavian's attitude, Frederico Varandas, president of the 'lions', remains calm and confident that Gyökeres' future will be resolved at the close of the transfer market , but not before warning the attacker that he will be sanctioned with a fine.
"We're calm. Everything will be resolved at the close of the transfer window, a hefty fine and an apology to the group ," the Sporting president said in statements to the Portuguese media outlet LUSA .
But Varandas did not stop there and took aim at Arsenal , stating that the Gunners must be willing to pay the amount the club is asking for the player , because otherwise they will have to wait until his contract ends in 2028.
" If they don't want to pay fair market value for Viktor (Gyökeres), we're very comfortable with that for the next three years ," he said.
Finally, Sporting's top executive questioned the Swede's "exit strategy" and warned that "no one is above the club."
"If the geniuses devising this strategy think this is putting pressure on me to facilitate the exit, they're not only completely wrong, but they're also making the player's exit even more complicated. No one is above the club's interests , whoever they are," he concluded.