Hassan in limbo: Thai club set to cancel contract with year left
Thai club Army United set to cancel Singapore No. 1's contract, with a year left
He is rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the region and was arguably Singapore's best player in the failed AFF Suzuki Cup campaign.
But goalkeeper Hassan Sunny will likely be without a club by the end of the month.
The 32-year-old has been informed by his Thai club Army United that there is a "90 per cent" chance that his contract, which still has a year to run, will be cancelled.
Army United were relegated to the Thai second tier in October, after the Thai Premier League ended prematurely with three matches to go following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
As a result, the club have decided to tighten their purse strings and work with a smaller budget for next season, with coach Thanis Areesngarkul reported to be considering keeping only 10 players from the current squad.
That also means their biggest earners such as Hassan will be released.
The shot-stopper told The New Paper yesterday: "I was in Bangkok earlier this week and spoke to the club's general manager, who told me the club were 90 per cent likely to cancel my contract.
"I've already been told I can speak to other clubs.
"They will have another meeting on Monday, to finalise the paperwork."
Once the club do that, they will take about two weeks to settle the compensation due to Hassan, which is understood to be worth six months of salary.
Hassan said: "The GM has assured me there will be no issues, and they will compensate me.
"He also said they had zero issues about my performance and felt very sorry to let me go, but their budget issue forced them to take this action."
Despite the promise given over his compensation, the 2014 S.League Player of the Year is more concerned about his future.
After Army were relegated, Hassan said there was "verbal interest" from top-tier Thai clubs, but that interest has since cooled.
He is hopeful that his displays at the Suzuki Cup will attract offers from overseas clubs.
"I've received a lot of offers of help from agents, former teammates and coaches, through Facebook messages or texts," he said.
"I'm grateful for all this. But, at the moment, there has still been no concrete offer from any club.
"I will speak to some S.League clubs soon, but I hope my performance in the Suzuki Cup is enough to impress clubs overseas that I have what it takes to play for them."
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