Salary dispute: Mohun Bagan and Sukhdev Singh close to reaching a settlement

The salary dispute ordeal between Sukhdev Singh and Mohun Bagan (now ATK Mohun Bagan) has almost reached a settlement, Goal can confirm.

Much before ATK and Mohun Bagan officially announced their merger which would see them partake in the upcoming Indian Super League (ISL) season, Singh had taken the matter of his outstanding dues with the Player Status Committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The former I-League winner had a two-year contract with Mohun Bagan from the 2018-19 season that was annulled in January 2020 as the club failed to pay multiple installments of Singh's remuneration.

Both club and player tried to come to a mutual settlement wherein Singh insisted to be paid 85 per cent of his salary (INR 25 lakhs) whereas Bagan were willing to pay around 70 per cent (INR 20 lakhs), until the last hearing of the committee last week via web conference. 

Goal has learnt that the parties have all but reached an in-between settlement at INR 22 lakhs that Bagan has agreed to pay, minus the amount against a loan that Singh had taken from the club.

In 2018, the Mariners fought tooth-and-nail with East Bengal to secure the services of Singh from Minerva Punjab (now Punjab FC) and even shelled out a hefty transfer fee (INR 16 lakhs) to the Chandigarh-based side. But the defender was banned for six months for contract malpractice by the AIFF, after an attempt by East Bengal to sign him.  The club also were given a transfer ban as a result .

Though Sukhdev finally ended up moving to Bagan, it came at a cost of a fine of INR 50,000 each to the federation and Minerva Punjab. Subsequently, he was plagued by a series of injuries that forced him to spend significant time on the sidelines during his tenure at Mohun Bagan. 

In fact, he made no appearance in I-League during his entire stint at Bagan. He played a few matches in the Durand Cup and Calcutta Football League (CFL).

Meanwhile Mohun Bagan have completed all their pending payments to their players and have also completed bonus payouts.