The Cong - Viettel respond to Duc Chien's 'sulking' incident.

On the morning of July 2nd, The Cong - Viettel Club officially announced the early termination of midfielder Nguyen Duc Chien's contract.

Duc Chien is a highly sought-after Vietnamese player - Photo: NGOC LE

"Immediately after Duc Chien returned from national team training, the Board of Directors met with him directly to discuss the matter. However, Duc Chien announced that he would not be renewing his contract with the club."

"At the same time, Chien's performance also doesn't guarantee the quality of subsequent training sessions in preparation for the remaining matches of the season," the The Cong - Viettel Club stated.

The military team confirmed that Duc Chien proactively informed head coach Velizar Popov that he was not fit enough and could not play in the match against Hanoi FC (round 25 of V-League 2024-2025) at a time when the team was severely short of players.

"The desire to win is always within us, and only those who want to leave the club would say otherwise," The Cong - Viettel emphasized.

Previously, Duc Chien posted a status update on social media implying criticism of The Cong - Viettel Club, and the player also shared with media outlets and news channels about being terminated from his contract two months early, having to pay billions of VND to free himself.

The military team affirmed its stance of focusing on training and developing the next generation of players to avoid being affected by fluctuating player values.

"What is the true value of a player? With that value, could we buy better foreign players, or should we create opportunities for young players to showcase their talents?", The Cong - Viettel stated.

"We anticipated that the players we trained would become sought-after targets for other clubs. With the support of the Group's leadership, we also created the best conditions for Duc Chien to stay, even offering him an attractive deal, but the two sides could not reach an agreement."

The transfer market in Vietnamese football is quite complex, but we will always adhere to our principles and philosophy. We firmly believe and hope that professional football will always require professional conduct," the military team stated.

Duc Chien rose through the ranks of the The Cong - Viettel youth academy and has been one of the team's key players in recent times. He has also been called up to the Vietnamese national team on numerous occasions and has contributed to their national squad.

After leaving The Cong - Viettel, Duc Chien is reportedly about to join Phu Dong Ninh Binh FC - the team that recently won the First Division championship and earned promotion to the V-League 2025-2026.

Back to the topic

NGOC LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/the-cong-viettel-len-tieng-vu-duc-chien-hon-doi-20250702085119927.htm