West Ham United's newest recruit has been accused of blackmail by Lazio president Claudio Lotiti.
Valon Behrami joined the Hammers last week in a £5million switch from the Serie A side. However Lotiti claims that he would have retained the services of the Swiss international - but for a massive pay increase demand."Behrami blackmailed me," Lotito said. "He cared when we had problems but then one day his lawyer demanded we pay him €3million a year or he would leave.”
Lazio's inability to meet Behrami's demands led to the Kosovo-born winger moving to England last week - although the Serie A club could perhaps consider themselves fortunate to receive so much for a player entering the final year of his contract.
Behrami made his United debut in the 2-0 win at Peterborough on Tuesday night. He was part of the squad at the Boleyn Ground who met fans yesterday in the club's first open training session of the season.
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