9 things Sunderland fans said about the £9million Ricky Alvarez fiasco

Cash-strapped Sunderland were dealt another financial blow when they were ordered to pay Inter Milan £9million for Ricky Alvarez.
Ricky Alvarez on one of his rare appearances for Sunderland.Ricky Alvarez on one of his rare appearances for Sunderland.
Ricky Alvarez on one of his rare appearances for Sunderland.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in the Italian club's favour to bring to an end a saga which has been ongoing since 2015.

Sunderland signed Alvarez in 2015 on a year-long loan, to be converted into a permanent deal should they stay in the Premier League.

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Alvarez missed much of that season through injury, but the Black Cats did beat relegation.

However, they said they could not be expected to sign the player, due to the small part he played in their survival.

He became a free agent, and now plays for another Italian club, Sampdoria, but Sunderland will still have to stump up the originally-agreed fee.

Here's some of your comments on the case:

Brian Taylor: "The biggest question is why did we sign him? Did nobody watch him play for Inter? He wouldn't get a game for Ryhope Top Club."

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Richard Hobson: "Ourselves to blame, our own fault trying to back out of it after agreeing to pay."

Michael Gourley: "Who is running this club, Mr Bean?"

Pigs do fly: "How many more examples are we going to witness of how bad Short is at running a football club?"

Fulwellenderforever: "Left to become a free agent, so we owe IM £9M and we get nothing back. He's back playing after recovering, so there goes another brilliant management gaff. "

One Gary Rowell: "Look at some of those signings of south Americans under Poyet and you wonder why the club is in the state it is, but surely this is just the tip of the iceberg. When you think of all the rubbish brought here by Di Fanti, how can Short have been so short sighted in his running of the club?"

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19Fabster73: "We got 8 league appearances out of him for a fee in excess of £9m...and people wonder why some of us get angry about the incompetence of those who have been in charge of running our club these last few years."

Red whitebarcode: "Sunderland is the only football club in the world who pays £9million for a player that they don't own!! Calling them a bunch of clowns is derogatory to the clowning profession."

KL9: "The disasters just keep on coming. It's a good job Short is the owner, as his utter incompetence at this club would have seen him sacked many times over."