SYDNEY: The transfer of Tomi Juric to Shanghai Shenhua, which would have reportedly made the Western Sydney Wanderers striker the best paid Australian footballer, has been scuppered by the player's father, his agent said on Saturday.
A reported three-year deal with the Chinese Super League side worth over A$3 million a season for the 23-year-old had been mooted but Juric's agent Ante Alilovic said that the player's father had said no.
"I got a call from him saying his son wasn't going and I knew then where it was heading," Alilovic was quoted as saying by SBS The World Games on Saturday.
"There was a significant amount of interference there, with a couple of other agents also becoming involved, and that was what ultimately ruined the deal as far as I was concerned. It was me who called a halt to the whole thing.
"In my opinion, this is a case of Tomi Juric winning the lotto and his father losing the ticket."
A Shenhua spokesman told SBS the deal could still happen but they did not welcome 'interference' and that other targets were also being looked at.
Juric scored four goals, including the only one in the two legged final against Al Hilal, as the Wanderers became the first Australian side to win the AFC Champions League last year.
The former Adelaide United striker is currently in training camp with Australia ahead of Friday's Asian Cup opener against Kuwait in Melbourne.
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