Portuguese man sues church for £10 million for ruining his
Manchester United career. It's not Bebe.
6 March 2012
A 46-year old former semi-professional footballer is
launching a £10 million lawsuit against a Baptist church for ruining his
chances of playing for Manchester United.
Arquimedes Nganga (what a name that is by the way),
originally from Portugal but now living in London, played lower league football
in his native country until he was 25, when he quit to become a fervent
evangelist and a member of the Baptist faith.
Despite never having played at a level above the third
division in Portugal, the modest Nganga believed that he possessed enough
ability to play in the Premier League for Manchester United, where, he
believes, he would have been good enough to earn £20,000 a week.
Because he devoted himself to the Baptist church rather than
pursue what would have obviously have been a magnificent playing career,
Arquimedes claims that he has missed out on career earnings to the tune of £10
million – bless him, he omitted the lucrative endorsements that would have
inevitably come his way – a sum he wants the church to pay him back.
"I could definitely have had a long career in the Premiership,"
Nganga is quoted as saying in the London Evening Standard.
"I see many players playing today who I am not inferior
to – and perhaps even better than. Most midfielders are either defensive or
attacking but I was both. I had something new."
I’m sure it has already been pointed out to Nganga, but the
irony of the whole thing is that as a player with apparent attacking prowess in
the centre of midfield, he is exactly what the Premier League champions are
lacking at the moment.
The report in the Evening Standard adds that Nganga has
accused the Baptist Union of Great Britain of destroying his social life,
causing him "psychological harm" and defrauding him of money through
compulsory donations. He has filed papers with the high court and launched a £10
million lawsuit, but naturally enough, the church have responded by saying they
intend to vigorously contest his claims.
Once he learns of the news, Sir Alex Ferguson will obviously
be dismayed to have missed out on such a gem. Actually, after what he went
through with Arquimedes' Bebe, maybe he won't.
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