Last Parade
Birds fans were given a rude shock, as
Tian Yonghang traded Bolivian left winger
Federico Parada to Belgian IV.22 het sniper team without advance warning. This brought in S$7.5 million for Grilled Birds, or a S$5.5 million discount on what Grilled had paid almost exactly five seasons back.
While this had the main body of supporters in uproar, a few cooler heads did recognize the logic behind the deal. "Federico has been one of our better performers, but he has hardly been indispensible." experienced fan Henry Low offered. "Frankly, he has not progressed as much as many of us wanted. And seeing as to how the club have coped with losing just about all our strikers, why not?"
Local pundits agreed. "On the surface, it seems like a bad deal, but from another perspective, it's cutting loose sunk costs." television personality Edward Jun Ong commented. "The Birds have been rumoured to have been struggling with their balance sheet behind the curtain, and this should go some way towards easing their financial burden."
Tian would elect not to respond to the criticism for the most part, and instead put out a brief statement that he did not expect the sale to affect Grilled's preparations for the new campaign. "Our ambitions remain unchanged, and we all thank Parada for his service here. Yes, it was mainly a business decision."
