It looks like Louis Saha won’t be gracing the humble Victorian stomping ground of Olympic Village after all, after the former EPL star’s sensational deal to play for Zagame’s State League Three South-East side Caulfield United Cobras fell through after the parties failed to reach a suitable agreement.
While the deal – which would’ve seen the former Manchester United forward play a one-off FFA Cup fixture against Heidelberg United – was confirmed to be in motion by the Caulfield United hierarchy, it was rumoured that the final stumbling block was a failure to negotiate a suitable insurance fee for Friday night’s fixture, which would’ve seen the club forfeit what was suggested to be an up front fee of upwards of $25000.
A last ditch attempt to sponsor that money was said to have been made to no avail.
As of last Tuesday night, Saha was confirmed to have been registered with the FFV and was purely awaiting international clearance from Italy, where he finished his playing career with Lazio in 2013.
The Victorian football community was expected to heavily benefit from his appearances, with a mammoth crowd – and sizeable ticket sale/canteen revenue – a huge factor for opponents and hosts Heidelberg, while his appearance for Caulfield would’ve drawn plenty of attention towards the Cobras, who sit fourth in their league so far.