Who is Lassana Diarra? Ex-Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid star dubbed ‘new Makelele’ & at centre of new transfer ruling
LASSANA DIARRA is the man at the centre of what could be a REVOLUTION in how football runs and operates.
The retired France international, 39, is a blast from the past for many football fans but hit the headlines after a landmark court ruling over transfers.
What happened with Lassana Diarra’s court case?
Diarra sued Fifa after it upheld a £16MILLION that was imposed by his former club, Lokomotiv Moscow, following his sacking for allegedly boycotting training over a pay dispute in 2014.
Diarra’s case was heard by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, the highest court in Europe.
In a landmark decision, Diarra WON the case after his legal team argued that Fifa had broken European labour laws by refusing to issue the International Transfer Certificate which would have allowed him to join another club and exercise his rights as a professional.
The ECJ ruling has now declared current regulations are in breach of EU Law on the free of movement of people.
Inside Lassana Diarra’s legal case with Fifa
Lassana Diarra’s case with Fifa dates back to 2014 when he was playing for Lokomotiv Moscow.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder was in a dispute with Lokomotiv over wages – with the Russian side ultimately terminating his contract.
The case was referred to Fifa’s Dispute and Resolution Chamber (DRC) which ruled against Diarra, fining him £16MILLION.
During this time, Diarra received a new contract offer from Belgian side Charleroi.
But Charleroi wanted clarification from Fifa that they would not be liable to pay any of the money owed to Lokomotiv.
Fifa could not make that guarantee and the move never happened.
As a result, Diarra brought new legal action against Fifa and the Belgian league claiming a loss of earnings.
That started the long process that has led to this week’s groundbreaking judgment.
Diarra’s lawyer was Jean Louis Dupont, the man who had previously transformed the sport in the mid-1990s by successfully working for the introduction of the Bosman ruling, which allowed players to move for free once their contract was up.
The Court ruled: “The rules in question are such as to impede the free movement of professional footballers wishing to develop their activity by going to work for a new club.
“Those rules impose considerable legal risks, unforeseeable and potentially very high financial risks as well as major sporting risks on those players and clubs wishing to employ them which, taken together, are such as to impede international transfers of those players.”
What are the ramifications of the ruling?
Potential ramifications could be huge depending on the full judgement, which will be published later today.
If the Court has made a strong ruling, it could effectively declare the entire current system is in breach of EU Law.
That would see Fifa losing its current authority over the transfer system and allow players the right to break their contracts and change clubs with impunity.
In turn, that would end the current “trickle down” system where many smaller clubs are reliant on transfer income.
Such an outcome would lead to big stars being able to hawk their services for free but for huge wages, allowing the wealthiest clubs – including the bulk of the Premier League – the opportunity to hoover up the best talent.
How football changed after Bosman ruling
THE Bosman Ruling transformed football transfers in 1995.
Before the Bosman Ruling, clubs could demand a transfer fee for a player even after their contract had expired.
But Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman went to the European Court of Justice and the judge ruled in his favour.
And that meant that when a player’s contract expired, they could move freely to another club within the EU without a transfer fee.
The landmark court case gave players far more power in the final year of their deals – with clubs either needing to extend them or lose them for nothing at the end of the season.
Footballers can now also sign pre-contract agreements with new clubs from January when their deals run out to move on a free transfer.
The Bosman Ruling essentially removed the restrictions on EU football players with expired contracts, giving them the same rights as free agents and increasing the freedom of movement.
And even with the UK leaving the EU, the Bosman Ruling still applies for Premier League clubs.
Who is Lassana Diarra?
Lassana, known as ‘Lass’ during his career, was born on March 10, 1985, in Paris to Malian parents.
His first club was Paris FC but he bounced around academies, playing for Nantes, Le Mans and Red Star 93 before joining Le Havre aged 18 in 2003.
Diarra had an outstanding first season in senior football, impressing in Ligue 1 and breaking into the Francer Under-21 team.
He was then spotted by Chelsea, with chief scout Gwyn Williams dubbing him the new [Claude] Makelele – the Blues spent £1million to secure his signature.
Diarra spent three seasons at Stamford Bridge and was named the 2005-06 Young Player of the Year – despite playing just seven matches.
He played 31 games in all and was part of the side that won the League Cup and FA Cup in 2007, before moving to Arsenal.
Diarra spent just one season in north London, playing only 13 matches, before a move to Portsmouth where he played 32 matches in two seasons, impressing despite struggling with injuries.
Diarra then completed a shock move to Real Madrid for around £19m and became one of their key players over the next four seasons, playing 117 games between 2008 and 2012, as well as winning the Copa del Rey in 2011 and La Liga in 2012.
Lassana Diarra's career stats
Lassana Diarra played for some of the top clubs in Europe as an all-action defensive midfielder.
He started at Le Havre before earning his big break with a £4million move to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2005.
Diarra was largely a rotation option but won an FA Cup and League Cup double with the Blues before a brief move across London to join Arsenal.
But it was at Portsmouth where Diarra really made his name, winning a historic FA Cup and earning a massive £19m move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Diarra played 117 times in five seasons for Los Blancos, winning one LaLiga title, again under Mourinho, and the Copa Del Rey.
Then came Diarra’s fateful move to Russia, first Anzhi Makhachkala and then Lokomotiv Moscow, before he saw out his playing career in his native France with Marseille and then PSG, where he won one Liga 1 crown.
- Le Havre (2003–2005)
- Chelsea (2005–2007)
- Portsmouth (2008–2009)
- Real Madrid (2009–2012)
- Anzhi Makhachkala (2012–2013)
- Lokomotiv Moscow (2013–2015)
- Marseille (2015–2017)
- Al Jazira (2017–2018)
- Paris Saint-Germain (2018–2019)
A move to Anzhi Makhachkala followed before a move to Lokomotiv Moscow – which is where he fell foul of coach Leonid Kuchuk.
Diarra was allegedly asked to take a pay cut and then is said to have refused to turn up to training – Diarra was eventually sacked and later ordered to pay a huge fine and missed a season of football.
He then had spells at Marseille and Al Jazira before finishing his career with Paris Saint-Germain, where helped Unai Emery win the treble in 2017-18.
An international for France, Diarra won 34 caps and was named in the 2010 World Cup squad and the Euro 2016 squad. However, he did not play any tournament football due to a blood disorder in 2010 and injury in 2016.