Queen’s Park Rangers have confirmed that they are continuing with an internal investigation after allegations brought against their manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
The Daily Telegraph claims that former Chelsea striker Hassselbaink negotiated a fee of £55,000 to act as an ambassador for a sports company that proposed selling players to his club.
English football is currently in a state of turmoil after Sam Allardyce was ousted as England manager after negotiating a £400,000 per year deal to represent the same company, which in reality was a fictitious firm whose representatives were undercover reporters.
44-year-old Hasselbaink, held two meetings with an undercover reporter at which he discussed meeting investors in the company and potentially signing players they represented.
It is alleged that Hasselbaink agreed to fly to Singapore to speak to investors in a Far Eastern firm that was seeking to be involved in the transfer of players. He is quoted as telling the undercover reporter: ‘“Look, just try to make me happy… come up with a nice figure.”
He was open to the idea of signing players they represented, despite the apparent conflict of interest with his job at QPR.
He discussed subjects like repeated trips to the Far East, with fees of between £35,000-£55,000 being offered to him per trip. He also mentioned branching out into other areas, as the firm, which is ficticious, had ‘interests in construction and property.’
The Dutchman met with QPR CEO Lee Hoos and Director of Football Les Ferdinand this morning, which was followed by a meeting at the Championship club’s Harlington training ground. This was attended by players and staff.
The statement by QPR read:
“As a shareholder you can finance the club, asking everything you want – percentage – you are allowed to do it in England.”
