A parent has sued Reading Football Club after they sold their star man a week after he bought his 13-year-old son a replica shirt bearing his name.
James McGhee spent £42 on a shirt with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s name and number on the back in July as a 13th birthday present for son Jon.
But shortly after buying the shirt, Reading sold Sigurdsson to 1899 Hoffenheim – angering the Middlesborough schoolboy.
James, who was originally from Reading, contacted the club and asked for a refund but they refused.
Disappointed at the refusal, the McGhee’s threatened to take the football club to county court in Middlesbrough.
Reading backed down and settled the dispute out of court.
The embarrassed club paid the McGhees £72 which covered the shirt price and the legal costs.
Mr McGhee told The Reading Post said: “For anybody else in the same position who feels equally aggrieved, this just shows it is well worth pursuing it. It shows what can be done if you are prepared to fight your corner.”
A spokesman for The Royals said: “We only settled because the hearing was right up in Middlesbrough. For the time and effort, it was far more logical to settle.”