Soccer Team Owner Blocks Tottenham Transfer From Prison

Tottenham Hotspur had a deal in place to transfer center back Vlad Chiriches from Romanian club Steaua Bucuresti to the Premier League. But then Steaua Bucuresti owner Gigi Becali was granted his one-a-day phone call from jail, and everything went to shit.

Becali, a Romanian businessman and politician, was sentence to three years in prison in May for abusing the country's land exchange system. ESPN reports that he's doing his time in Bucharest's Rahova jail, where he recently found out Spurs and Steaua Bucuresti had agreed a £6 million fee for Chiriches. Steaua Bucruesti have a Champions League qualifying round match against Dinamo Tbilisi on August 6, so Becali wasn't having that.

"Who are Tottenham?!" a local newspaper reports him saying. "Do not do any transfer, my name is Gigi Becali! I'm not a slave to anybody! We have an important game in the Champions League, why can't they wait?

"Until winter he will not leave under any circumstances. This could be a blow to Chiriches, but he should understand. He owes a lot to Steaua. Things are good, we are in qualifying for the Champions League. We are in good shape."

Spurs have since pulled their bid for Chiriches.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

[ ESPN]

h/t to Travis