The negotiations between Javad Nekounam and the UAE club, Al Sharjah has failed as the sides failed to reach an agreement. Esteghlal and Team Melli Captain returned back to Tehran empty handed. The Esteghlal Club CEO , Ali Fathollahzadeh immidiateli claimed  that he has secured Nekounam signature on a contract extenson. The midfield player will extend his contract with the Esteghlal club for another season. This comes in the aftermath of intense disputes between the player and the club which started shortly after the start of the last season.

Nekounam like many other players in the team, were not given their dues which resulted in threats and counter threats. Nekounam was looking for a club other than Esteghlal, but very few clubs in Iran could afford his wage demands. Al Sharjah, a club in UAE that Nekounam has already played for .  had showed a strong interest in Nekounam but were not ready to meet the Iranians’ wages demand nor the requested transfer fee.

While it seems that the matter was coming to an end with Nekounam return from the UAE and failure of his transfer to materialize, Amir Ghalenoei did not hide his displeasure by the commotion that Nekounam has created which has affected the team’s preparation and also affected the morale of other players.  The Esteghlal coach made his views public which prompted Nekounam to react and  threaten to expose Esteghlal club mismanagement and the disregard for contracts and continuous false promises to players.