The football agent cleared of sending former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia a threatening email says he is filing a lawsuit against the Premier League club.
The claim filed by Saif Rubie to Circuit Commercial Court relates to the transfer of defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham United in August 2021.
Rubie was found not guilty on the charge of malicious communications towards Granovskaia in April 2024 following a trial at Southwark Crown Court. The charge related to an email sent by Rubie to Granovskaia in May 2022, where the agent demanded a commission from the sale of Zouma to West Ham the previous summer.
A spokesperson for Rubie said: “Saif Rubie has today (Friday) filed a claim against Chelsea FC. The claim relates to the transfer of Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham in August of 2021.”
Rubie added: “The last two and a half years have been incredibly difficult.
“As a fan of Chelsea FC, and having had a productive business relationship with the club over a number of years, I am saddened that I have been forced to take this step. It’s my sincere hope that we will be able to reach a resolution to this issue that is long overdue.
“I am hopeful that Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, and Chelsea FC will take the action necessary to right this wrong and close this chapter so that all parties can move on.”
Chelsea and Granovskaia both declined to comment when approached by The Athletic.
During April’s trial, the court heard Rubie believed he acted as an intermediary on Chelsea’s behalf during the Zouma deal — and as such was due a commission on any transfer fee received above €30million (£25.6m, $32.2m). Both parties disputed the exact sum, while Granovskaia argued that Rubie never represented Chelsea, and instead sought to involve himself in the deal.
Rubie had insisted he was owed a £300,000 commission from the transfer, with the deal to bring France international Zouma to West Ham worth €33.9m.
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