I personally think that this is ridiculous. City had originally agreed to pay in the region of £9 million for the Zimbabwean striker and had then backed out after confusion over Benjani's medical. The Premier League claimed that City had signed all the appropriate documents and yet the two clubs were allowed to re-negotiate a deal, which compromised Jermain Defoe's situation at the club.
I'm glad that this whole farce is over, but I'm a bit annoyed that one of our best strikers has been allowed to leave for well under half the original fee agreed for him, so something doesn't seem right there.
I'm sure all Pompey fans will be sorry to see Benjani leave after all he gave for the club. I wish him all the best at Manchester City now that he has signed there for two-and-a-half years and I hope he makes the 75 starts needed to trigger a clause that will enable Pompey to recieve more money from City.
Pompey spokesman Gary Double confirmed that City backed out of the transfer because of "worries" about Benjani's knee although there's never been a reported problem with it. Double did confim that Pompey would still receive all of the original fee agreed, but it will be paid in phases.
This transfer should now mean that Jermain Defoe should be able to make his move to Pompey a permanent one, although Gaydamak is going to be shorter of money as he will only initially recoup around £4 million of the reported £7.5 million spent on Defoe.
All the best Benji!