In the interview Lua Lua claims that the board have made it impossible for him to stay and that he wants to be sold as soon as possible so that Pompey can get a fee for him, blaming the board entirely for leaving and thanking the supporters for their support for him during his time at the club.
The problem is not apparent in this situation. Being the cynic that I am I believe that Lua Lua might be holding the club to ransom, demanding a higher wage than the board believes he is worth. Now what he is actually worth is anyone's guess but I don't think he is as valuable to the club as Gary O'Neil and Matthew Taylor and rumour has it that these two players are the biggest earners at the club, having just signed new deals. My guess is that Lua Lua wants to earn as much as the top earners at the club, but the board aren't willing to offer him that and as a consequence Lua Lua's refusal to sign will obviously lead to him being sold.
I really hope that Lua Lua isn't holding the board to ransom and then blaming the board for not offering what he thinks he's worth. He does say in the interview that the reason he is leaving is entirely down to the board, though personally it might just be because he over-rates himself and therefore the only blame for his exit would be attached to himself. Of course, he might be right and the board might be making him a ludicrous offer or perhaps they're just being stingy and don't value him at Pompey as much as the manager does, which could lead to more conflict and that's something we could really be doing without for now.
The bottom line is that we just don't know the full story and we won't until either he's sold or the situation is resolved. Lua Lua only has one year left on his contract so if we were forced to sell him then we probably wouldn't get a very high fee for him. Maybe 2 or 3 million quid, whether that's a fair price is down to individual opinion which seems to be split with some Pompey fans saying he's too valuable to let go whilst others think he should leave because he doesn't do enough to deserve his star status at the club.
Of course, this could just be the media doing their best to piss Pompey fans off like they are well known for doing anyway. Especially considering that selling him would only leave us with Benjani and Toddy as our only two recognised strikers and any decent Premiership side has at least four of them.
Either way, this situation isn't going to be straightforward, as with any situation at this club!