Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden says he will initiate legal proceedings against Standard Liege, alleging the Belgian club failed to pay his wages on time.
The 28-year-old had been on loan at Standard Liege since September after agreeing to join until the end of the season.
Standard Liege released a statement on January 11 stating that Newcastle had “activated the recall clause” to bring Hayden back to St James’ Park and wished him “all the best for the rest of his professional career”. The midfielder, however, claims there is a different reason for his early return.
“The main reason why I left Standard Liege is that the club does not pay salaries on time and does not pay them,” Hayden said in an interview with Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
“I will now initiate legal proceedings against the club to obtain the wages that Standard Liege owes me.
“For example, I received my November salary on December 28.
“They also didn’t pay the players’ bonuses and now the December salaries haven’t been paid and we’re almost at the end of January… it’s a real disaster!”
A spokesperson for Standard Liege said: “It would be misleading to claim that the reasons for Isaac’s departure were purely financial, but we wish him well with his future career.”
Standard Liege were taken over by prospective Everton owners 777 Partners in March 2022.
However, the Belgian FA briefly imposed a transfer ban on Standard Liege last month for unspecified late payments. A Belgian FA statement said the ban was lifted when 777 sent “the necessary funds to regularise the situation”.
The Athletic reported on Monday that 777 Partners is facing another lawsuit after an investor started proceedings against the firm, citing damages of more than $30million (£23.6m). And last week, it was revealed that 777 is also being sued by three Irish aircraft leasing companies for nearly $30m following a dispute over four planes it leased from them for use by its Canadian airline subsidiary Flair.
Since September, 777 has loaned Everton £142m to meet the club’s monthly costs and fund the ongoing construction of the club’s new stadium. And in November, they received a 10-point deduction for breaching the league’s spending rules over a four-year period up to summer 2022. The club was charged with the same offence for the next four-year period to 2023 on Monday.
Hayden, meanwhile, played in 11 matches for Standard Liege having previously spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Championship side Norwich City. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe recently said that he expects the Englishman to “go out on loan somewhere else”.
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(BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)