Alexander Isak and his representatives could invoke Article 17 to force a move to Liverpool next summer as a free agent, when Newcastle would be due far less than the £110m Reds bid in compensation.

Isak released a statement on Tuesday confirming he has no intention of playing for Newcastle again as a result of ‘broken promises’.

Isak said on Instagram: “I’ve kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken.

“That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn’t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.

“The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To now act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading.

“When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue. That’s where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.”

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Releasing a statement in response, Newcastle said: “We have been clear that the conditions for a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee these conditions being met.”

It leaves Isak in limbo, with Liverpool unlikely to bid again until doors are opened that Newcastle insist will remain closed.

But ESPN’s Gabriele Marcotti has revealed the ‘legal leverage’ Isak and his camp hold over Newcastle, which he believes ‘explains why they have been so aggressive in trying to engineer a move out of the club’.

As Marcotti explains, Article 17 is the key. FIFA were pressured into adding the article to their regulations by the European Commission 20 years ago as they believed the transfer system restricted the freedom of players to change jobs like ordinary people.

For a long time, until last October’s judgement on Lassana Diarra, the conditions were deemed too restrictive and the compensation set to be paid so uncertain that Article 17 wasn’t seen as a realistic course of action for players to force exits from clubs.

But the Diarra judgement forced FIFA to rewrite their rules, which are ‘definitely more player friendly than the previous ones’, writes Marcotti.

‘For a start, several significant hurdles have been removed. Previously, FIFA could withhold the player’s transfer certificate until the matter was resolved. No more. The club who signed an Article 17 player had to prove they didn’t collude with him to cause the breach of contract. That’s gone, too. Now, the burden of proof rests with the club that loses the player.’

He adds that Isak is ‘well-positioned to take advantage of this and become a free agent in less than 12 months’, with Liverpool or any other interested club only needing to pay around £50-60m in compensation to Newcastle for the breach of contract.

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The rules state that the compensation is calculated based on the wages Isak would have earned in his last two seasons (£12.5m), his remaining value on Newcastle’s books (£20m) and the cost of signing a replacement.

Article 17 can be invoked within 15 days of the final game of the season and only by players who have had a full three years under contract – a condition Isak has already met.

There’s no fixed amount, with the figure arrived at on a case-by-case basis, and Newcastle could appeal and win more compensation, but as Marcotti crucially reveals, that appeal wouldn’t stop Isak playing for a new club.

He adds:

‘The wheels of compensation tribunals grind slowly: a final judgment could take 18 months to 2 years, but under FIFA’s tweaked rules, the player would be free to play for his new club straight away. Paying no transfer fee at all for two years for someone like Isak could well be worth the uncertainty of not knowing what the compensation will be if you sign him.

‘The point here, in any event, is that the threat of Article 17 exists in the Isak case, and the threat alone, presumably, is what has emboldened the player and his agents to this point.’