Kewell's agent 'took £2m' for move to Liverpool

Harry Kewell's eight-year relationship with Leeds United ended acrimoniously last night when the chairman of the financially ravaged club, Professor John McKenzie, effectively accused the player's agent of creaming off £2m from the fee agreed for the Australian attacker's transfer to Liverpool.

McKenzie claimed he originally agreed with Liverpool for them to pay £7m for the 24-year-old Kewell, who will join his new colleagues when they travel to their Swiss training camp today. However, in McKenzie's words, the player and his adviser, Bernie Mandic, "refused to countenance the deal".

"Instead, they made it a condition of his not 'doing a Bosman' [waiting until his contract expired next summer and moving on a free transfer] that we paid £2m to Kewell's representatives. Liverpool then reduced the fee to £5m. I believe I know what has happened to the other £2m, but only Liverpool or Harry Kewell could tell you."

In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Leeds said: "In order to effect the transfer [we] have had to agree to pay a fee to the representatives of Kewell in the sum of £2m."

Leeds' plc board had been faced with two options, according to McKenzie, either taking the "net £3m" or accepting "next to nothing" for Kewell during the season, as they did when Lee Bowyer joined West Ham. "Given Kewell's outburst on Australian television, when he said he had been talking to Liverpool for six months, it would have been impossible for him to play for Leeds again," he said. "So, sadly, the plc felt it had no alternative but to accept the paltry sum."

An "angry and frustrated" McKenzie added: "I am outraged that, having threatened to walk away for nothing in 2004, they [Kewell's representatives] now seek to suggest it is our fault that the plc board felt the need to settle for such a low sum."

McKenzie said he felt "irritability" that "somebody who has been playing for Leeds, has been developed by Leeds, is paid an extraordinarily handsome wage, would renege on the fans and stab them in the back in this particular way. And I can't conceive of anybody wanting to do that."

Mandic sees things differently and last night said: "I'm proud of the way the deal was done, we did nothing wrong and most importantly Harry Kewell is a happy man." He also threatened legal action against Leeds. "My legal people will wait for Leeds to continue along their path and then take appropriate action," he said. "We wanted to leave on good terms but Leeds have not helped themselves."

Mandic had earlier said it was Leeds who had instigated the transfer in January by authorising him to seek out potential buyers. He said: "We were asked to move the player on by the club and for people to suggest otherwise is nonsense."

Kewell, who turned down £48,000 a week from Leeds and is expected to earn £60,000 a week at Liverpool, said it would be "difficult" to leave Leeds, for whom he made his debut in 1996 and helped to keep up by scoring a remarkable goal in their victory at Arsenal last May.

But there was, he said, "something special" about Liverpool's offer. "Those were my family and the coach [Gérard Houllier]. Money wasn't the main factor. I was offered a lot more by other clubs. I joined Liverpool because I believe it represents a real chance to win the Premiership title. That's what I want. You can have all the money in the world but you want to look back on your career and see the medals in the pot."