“Of course, both me and the club, we are totally behind our player,” said Patrick Vieira, coach of Crystal Palace, on Monday. Cheick Doucouré, who has just arrived in the Premier League from Lens, is the victim of blackmail and threats of extortion, according to his lawyer.
“I spoke to him, and I spoke to his lawyer too, said Patrick Vieira at a press conference in Melbourne. It is something that he as a player, and us as a club, we cannot accept”. In a press release made public this Sunday, Cheick Doucouré’s lawyer, Alexis Rutman, described a “very serious and obviously unacceptable situation”.
Extortion threats
According to him, the midfielder and his relatives are victims of organized blackmail. “Several WhatsApp messages, along with false documents, have been sent to my client and people around him over the past few days,” he said in his statement.
“These people claim, with falsified evidence, that my client would have a double identity and are asking for the payment of a sum of money in return for their silence”, declares the lawyer, ensuring that he takes all the appropriate legal measures in the face of this situation.
After a good season with Lens, the defensive midfielder recently joined Crystal Palace. His transfer is estimated at 23 million euros. At 22 and after four years in Lens, Cheick Doucouré therefore joined the Premier League, under contract until 2027 with the London club.
