Degradation into the B team
© Imago
After the burst transfer to the 1st FC Union Berlin, the turbulent time continues for Jeremiah St. Juste (28). The central defender was transferred to the second team by Sporting Lisbon. While the ex-Mainz feels a farewell, the Portuguese master rejects the Dutchman’s allegations.
“A lot has been written and said in the past few months. I think it is time to tell my side of history completely and transparently,” St. Juste began his statement published on Instagram. “At the start of the transfer period, the club informed me that I did not have to go because the coach wanted to count on me this season. But as soon as the season started, I was suddenly no longer taken into account for the squad.” Nobody spoke to him, instead his brother and consultant received the news that he was allowed to leave the association due to the expiring contract.
Together they tried to find a solution. After a move to Laliga club Ca Osasuna did not come about, the view went back to the Bundesliga. “I have had a personal agreement with several German clubs, but Sporting only accepted the conditions of Union Berlin. For a week my suitcases were ready and I was waiting for the green light for my flight. Two days before the deadline was informed that a player had to be sold first. It did not happen, so the transfer burst,” continued St. Juste.
At Union, the Dutch Diogo Leit (26) should replace, who in turn did not find a suitable club himself and now wants to stay with the Berliners. “We wanted to be narrow and younger in the squad, could only agree until September 1st. We dealt with an alternative for Diogo. But we didn’t want to get bigger than anyway. That is why the change was not possible. It would have been the best case to sell and get a replacement for it,” said Horst Heldt shortly after the deadline in a media round over St. Juste.
The latter also emphasized that the change did not fail due to financial claims. Due to the upcoming birth of his daughter, he finally expressed in a conversation with those responsible to want to stay in Lisbon. “The board of directors understood: ‘You have a contract with Sporting, so you can stay if you want.’ Today I trained with my teammates.
After burst transfer to Union Berlin: Will Sporting St. Juste get rid of?
All of this was just a few days after the club showed him understanding for his private situation. It was only a little later that his brother was told that he will stay in the second -class reserve or that he should look around for a buyer in the Middle East, where some transfer windows are still open. For example in Turkey (September 12), where St. Juste was last traded at Besiktas.
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Sporting pointed out the “serious and unacceptable insinuations” in one official notification Shortly afterwards categorically back. “The association emphasizes that the player and his environment have been informed at any time about the developments regarding its present and future at Sporting, which can also be seen from the player’s publication,” it says. “In this context, it should also be specified that the decision mentioned by the player was personally informed him at 1 p.m. (…) and that the recording of the player in the list of players reported for the Champions League speaks for themselves.” The legal steps are reserved against the statements.
St. Juste, who came from Mainz 05 to Sporting in 2022 for 10 million euros, but only recorded 80 missions due to injury, does not seem to be considered. “I have not yet managed to give fans what they really deserve,” he said. “I respect the club, the trainer and, above all, the fans and, in return, ask only for the same respect. I will bend, but never break, green and white flows through my veins, so I will proudly wear the B-team’s jersey.” In the summer of 2023, when an offer of a top German top club was received, but was rejected by Sporting, he also “never caused any problems or therefore took me next to it,” emphasized St. Juste.