Aberdeen chief executive Alan Burrows says the bid to get compensation from Rangers for Connor Barron has “dragged on for too long” and been too costly.
It has now been six months since Barron signed for the Ibrox club in June this year.
The Dons are still waiting on compensation for midfielder Barron, who penned a four-year deal with the Ibrox club when his contract expired.
Aberdeen are entitled to development compensation as Barron came through their youth ranks and was only 21 when he signed for Rangers.
It is understood the Dons turned down an opening offer of around £500,000 from Rangers during the summer for the midfielder.
As the clubs could not agree a compensation fee the matter must now be decided at an SPFL tribunal -which Burrows hopes will be “not much longer”,
Barron started for Rangers in the Dons 2-1 win against the Ibrox club at Pittodrie this season – despite no fee being agreed or paid.
Speaking at Aberdeen’s annual general meeting (AGM), Burrows said: “The rules of the SPFL prohibit me from giving too much information on it.
“However, the situation has dragged on too long.
“On the back of this case, we probably need to look at other ways we can have a better process to come out of this scenario.
“It has been a long, time-consuming process.
“It has taken up a lot of management hours, staff hours and money to try to get to the point where we are.
“The SPFL really should have a more succinct system for this sort of thing and it shouldn’t take six or seven months to deliver.
“On reflection, it should be a catalyst for us to have a better process when it comes to players who go out of contract then move to another club within the same league and they can’t then come to an agreement on what a value should be on the cost recovery.
“I hope it will not be too much longer (before it is resolved).”
Period of time to re-evaluate beach stadium proposal
Burrows also confirmed talks are ongoing with Jack MacKenzie and Jamie McGrath in a bid to get the players to sign new contracts.
Both are out of contract at the end of the season and free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club when the transfer window opens on January 1.
Burrows also revealed the Dons have also held talks with Duk about his future, with the attacker’s contract also expiring at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, at the club’s 121st AGM, chairman Dave Cormack confirmed Aberdeen will take a period of time to re-evaluate its options regarding a new community stadium at the beach.
Constructing a replacement for Pittodrie at the beach was mooted as a key part of the ambitious Beachfront Masterplan revamp.
In 2022, a new stadium was priced at £80m with Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce forecasting it would add an extra £20m a year to the city economy
However the project has since entered stalemate as council bosses say they would only agree to the stadium complex if Aberdeen pay for it themselves.
Cormack confirmed a combination of factors including depressed land values, change in council leadership and construction inflation has led to a re-evaluation of the stadium situation.
The chairman said: “Aberdeen City Council approached the club a few years back about building a new community stadium as part of their ambitious Beachfront Masterplan, for which independent economists projected a £1 billion upside for the City of Aberdeen.
“And that’s to the benefit of the city and not the football club.
“Between Covid construction inflation, a change in council leadership, and now significantly reduced plans for beachfront investment, along with highly depressed land values in the north-east, the club needs a period of time to re-evaluate its options.”
Kingsford Stadium still on the table for Dons
In attendance at the AGM were Cormack, Burrows, manager Jimmy Thelin and director of football Steven Gunn.
Also in attendance were directors Dimitrios Efstathiou, Stewart Milne, Kevin MacIver, Zoe Ogilvie and Willie Garner.
The question is the stadium at Kingsford dead was raised?
Burrows said: “No. We never put Kingsford to bed and we still have planning for that. It certainly is not dead.
“We still believe a new stadia at the beach can be very economically beneficial for the city.”
Aberdeen’s player-trading model working
The annual financial statement were received by unanimous vote by shareholders.
Aberdeen’s turnover jumped almost £8million in their accounts for the year to June 30, hitting a record £23.6m
The figure is a 49% increase on the £15.8m turnover over the previous 12 months.
This boost in turnover was boosted by last season’s lucrative Europa Conference League group campaign
The rise means the Dons wages-to-turnover ratio dropped from 76% in their last accounts to 54%.
That figure is below European football governing body Uefa’s recommended upper limit for clubs of 70%.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation at Pittodrie were £847,000 in their 12-month accounts.
Cormack said: “In in May of 2019 we published a clear vision and strategy for the club.
“At its core it was driven by our desire to improve our income, better our compelling fan engagement and fan experience initiatives.
“Significantly increased commercial income, alongside playing attacking and entertaining football, where we aspire to play in Europe every season.
“This includes the implementation of a player trading strategy and model.
“Which although risky, if successful, allows the club to invest much more in delivering football success than from regular operating income alone, such as season ticket and hospitality sales.
“It’s three years since COVID hit the club for £10 million cash flow.
“During that time, while we’ve had too much disruption on the football management side, we managed to reach the group stages in Europe for the first time in 15 years.
“Our player trading model is showing positive signs, and last year’s results delivered a 49% increase in turnover.
“And a positive EBITDA, which is earnings before interest tax and depreciation of £847,000.”
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