SPORTS agent Jonathan Barnett, is suing for libel over accusations that his "disgraceful" demand for a £750,000 fee derailed the transfer of Leicester City star, Mussy Izzet, to Middlesbrough FC.

His counsel, Mr David Sherbourne, told a High Court libel jury that had Middlesbrough FC and its Chief Executive, Keith Lamb, been "big enough to say three little words, "we are sorry" the case would never have come to court.

But they had refused to apologise for a statement made by Mr Lamb to a journalist in October 2003 - a year after the Izzet transfer deal collapsed - as the BBC was preparing a documentary on the world of sports agency.

In the "damning" interview, said the barrister, Mr Lamb suggested that Mr Barnett - who runs leading sports agency Stellar Group Ltd - was more interested in lining his own pockets than getting the best deal for the Turkish international.

Mr Lamb suggested the transfer was desperately needed by "cash-strapped" Leicester and the only reason it fell through was because of Mr Barnett's "disgraceful" demand for a £750,000 fee for negotiations which took only about quarter of an hour.

He also implied to the journalist that, had it not been for Mr Barnett's fee demand, the deal was "as good as done" and that the agent had broken FIFA rules by also demanding a fee from Leicester City in what was "almost a form of blackmail".

But Mr Sherbourne told the jury: "We submit there was not truth at all in this".

Mr Lamb's claim that Mr Izzet was keen to move to Middlesbrough was "simply not correct", nor was it right that the deal only fell through because Mr Barnett "put his foot down" over his fee.

The "very serious charge" that the agent had breached FIFA rules by demanding a fee from both Leicester and Middlesbrough was also groundless, but Mr Sherbourne said the "central sting" from Mr Barnett's point of view was that he was more interested in his fee than the best interests of his client.

He said Mr Barnett's case was "quite simple": Mr Izzet, who now plays for Birmingham City, was well settled with his family and friends in Leicestershire and "didn't really want to go to Middlesbrough" unless the money was right.

Paid £1.5 million-a-year at Leicester City, Mr Sherbourne said he would only move to Middlesbrough if given a "guaranteed better salary" of £40,000-a-week, or £2 million-a-year.

Middlesbrough, said the barrister, had "declined to meet" Izzet's financial requirements and that, and the collapse of the deal had nothing whatever to do with Mr Barnett's fees, he told the jury.

Mr Sherbourne said it was Middlesbrough FC and Mr Lamb's case that every word spoken by the club chief executive to the BBC journalist was "true" and "justified".

They say Mr Izzet was keen to move to Middlesbrough and his "all but agreed" transfer was only derailed when Mr Barnett "held them to ransom over his personal agency fees".

The club and Mr Lamb, represented by Tom Shields QC, say that Mr Barnett's conduct was indeed "disgraceful" in putting his own interests ahead of his client's career.

The libel trial, expected to last all week, continues.