Maja's dramatic Sunderland exit documented in new Netflix series
Josh Maja collected his belongings and left the Academy of Light before Sunderland had even accepted an offer for his services, it has been claimed.
In revealing scenes from season two of Netflix docuseries ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ - which is set to return to the streaming service on April 1 - owner Stewart Donald discusses the circumstances behind Maja’s exit, including a phone call from a very irate Jack Ross. Scenes across three episodes chart Maja’s contract saga, with intriguing insights from a number of senior staff and players.
And in one final interview, Donald explains the exact circumstances behind the striker’s exit - which include claims he packed up his belongings and left the Academy of Light before a deal was agreed.
“People told me it would play out this way,” said Donald. “I’m negotiating with Josh, it’s all moving along and then Jack calls me.
“He says ‘thanks very much - Josh has come in and picked up all his stuff and said that he’s gone.
“You could have told me you’d accepted an offer.’
“I said ‘woah, hold on a minute. I haven’t accepted anything.’”
At the time, it was reported that Sunderland had received around £3million for the in-demand striker -
And Donald has now confirmed that Sunderland did receive just short of £1.5million for a striker who had scored 16 goals before the turn of the year.
“I haggled the best I could,” said the Sunderland majority shareholder. We ended up with I think €1.5million. It’s not a great deal, but it’s the best we could get. It isn’t worth anything in comparison to promotion.”
*UEFA has taken the decision to postpone the men's and women's Champions
League finals and the Europa League final due to the ongoing health crisis in Europe. Istanbul was set to host the men's Champions League showpiece on May 30, while the Europa League final was due to take place on May 27 in Gdansk.
It is the second postponement UEFA has had to confirm within the last week after Euro 2020 was put back 12 months.