Three Portugal stars currently in Russia getting ready for the World Cup have told their club Sporting Portugal they will break their contracts, the club said on Monday.
The move is part of a continuing meltdown after the players were attacked and in some cases savagely beaten at their own training ground by a 50-strong gang of masked fans in mid-May.
William Carvalho, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes sent separate messages to the club, commonly known as Sporting Lisbon, saying they had a ‘valid motive’ to free themselves from contracts.