Leeds United allowed keeper Kristoffer Klaesson to leave this summer after three years at Elland Road, but his contract with Polish side Raków Częstochowa could be sensationally terminated, as per reports from Poland.
Klaesson joined Leeds from Norwegian side Vålerenga in 2021 and has gone on to appear 17 times for his country’s Under 21 team. He struggled to assert himself on the Leeds first team, making a single Premier League appearance and two in the Championship last season. Remarkably, he didn’t concede a single goal in those games, even coming on with his side losing 2-0 to Wolves, only to see them win 3-2.
He still couldn’t force himself into the first-team reckoning, and in July, he signed a three-year deal with the Polish side, who finished seventh in the Ekstraklasa last season. Problems have dogged the move – he arrived slightly overweight, with the coaching staff eager to work on his fitness. He has struggled to apply that regime and was recently stopped from training with the first team. Despite being a big capture for them over the summer, he missed their first game of the season against Lech Poznan and was fined for a negative reaction to the situation.
Reports now suggest he was spotted by supporters in a fast-food chain, leading to a suggestion the club could cancel his contract. Coach Marek Papszun is described as ‘ruthless’, as it’s been confirmed Klaesson was photographed by supporters tucking into a McDonald’s recently. The situation has deteriorated, and it’s now believed the player has spent the last couple of days in Norway with no intention of returning to Poland.
The case is not unlike that of Spanish player Joris Gnagnon, who was fired by Sevilla in 2021 after returning to pre-season training overweight. The La Liga club recently won a legal case against him at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Writer’s View
We’ve heard of overweight footballers before, but being spotted in McDonald’s when your club is fining you is just non-sensical, especially as they have McDelivery now!
Joking aside, there are sure to be deeper reasons for this situation. The keeper is unlikely to have deliberately sabotaged his career for a Big Mac. It feels a lot like he’s perhaps struggled to settle in Poland, and the situation has snowballed from there. There was no suggestion of an attitude issue at Leeds United, nor any hint of him being overweight and eating fast food regularly.
One wonders if there might be more to this fallout, such as court claims for breach of contract. It’s surely not just going to be put to bed by cancelling the player’s contract, as that also labels him a rebel and could end his career before it has got started properly.
That said, there’s sure to be a taker in his homeland, given his international pedigree, and he’s sure to find it easier to settle back in Norway.
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