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Bates - Max not a 'good deal'

Image: Gradel: Bates insists Leeds did not do well from selling the Ivory Coast ace to St Etienne

Ken Bates has conceded the fee Leeds received from St Etienne for Max Gradel was not a particularly 'good deal'.

Whites supremo admits club did not really cash in

Chairman Ken Bates has conceded the transfer fee Leeds received from St Etienne for Max Gradel was not a particularly 'good deal'. The Whites accepted the bid from the Ligue 1 club on Tuesday evening with the Ivory Coast international finalising his four-year contract on transfer deadline day. Leeds were against letting the talented 23-year-old leave Elland Road, but the fact that he only had a year left on his deal and following his transfer request they reluctantly accepted. Leicester also pocketed 17.5 per cent of the fee due to a sell-on clause inserted after he left the Foxes while the Football League were also entitled to five per cent of the deal.

Forced hand

"We never wanted Max to go," commented Bates. "In fact, towards the end of last season, we started talking to him about signing an extended contract. "(But) his agent came to see (chief executive) Shaun Harvey and said: 'Max has got a chance to play in the European Champions League or Europa League football'. "Sochaux offered us €1.8m with £500,000 added on but we told them to shove it, as we wanted to keep Max. "But that brought the matter to a head and Max put in his transfer request. We had to let him go (in the end). It's not a particularly good deal for us; we bought him for £100,000 from Leicester and they had a 17.5 per cent sell-on. "There's (also) a five per cent levy which goes to the league. But we've still got a substantial sum which is about £1.75m net over a year and that goes into Simon's Grayson's (transfer) pot."

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