French soccer club Nice has refused to hand over Colombia’s star goalkeeper David Ospina due to a lack of financial guarantees.
Negotiations between Nice and the Turkey-based Besiktas soccer club to transfer Colombian goalkeeper Ospina fell through Monday due to a dispute over payment.
Officials from both teams spent the last two months trying to secure the deal. However, Besiktas failed to provide the necessary financial assurances. According to Nice management, “we broke the negotiations with Besiktas to transfer to Ospina after the Turkish club was unable to provide the requested bank guarantees.”
The breakdown of talks came as a surprise to many. As late as July 10, the 23-year-old claimed, “I am almost ready to be the new Besiktas goalkeeper…it would be a very important step in my career.”
Ospina began his career with Atletico Nacional at the age of 17 before transferring to Nice in 2008. Since then, the native Antioquian has made 134 appearances for the French team, including 37 last season. The rising star has often been compared to legendary Colombian goalkeeper Oscar Cordoba.
