Panaji: FC Goa and Brison Fernandes have parted ways on a bitter note with the club accusing the star winger and his agent of “manufacturing a bidding war.Brison has risen through the ranks at Goa, starting with the under-16 team, reserves, and finally, in 2021, making his debut for the seniors in the Indian Super League (ISL). Since his debut, the winger has gone from strength to strength, even winning the ISL’s Emerging Player award in 2025 and breaking into the national team under coach Manolo Marquez.Exclusively reported by TOI on Friday, Brison has now verbally agreed a two-year deal with Chennaiyin FC, sparking a strong reaction from Goa.“FC Goa wanted to retain Brison and made him multiple contract offers, each one higher than the last,” Goa said in a statement on Friday. “Until a couple of days, he had no other offer on the table. What he did have was an agent using our own offers to shop him around to clubs across the country, in an attempt to manufacture a bidding war,” said a senior club official. Goa’s official statement on social media took many by surprise since this was the first time a club took its player – one who is enormously popular at home – and his representative to task. The club admitted it previously “chose to stay silent on several aspects out of respect for individuals involved,” but staying quiet about Brison’s exit “given the way this has unfolded, would be a disservice to this club, to our fans, and to the truth.”Significantly, Brison responded to the club’s statement on social media, thanking the club for providing him the platform to showcase his talent and maintained that he gave his best every time he took to the pitch.“Nobody will say that I did not give my best, I gave everything (on the field),” Brison said responding to Goa’s post. “I had to take painkillers (before) every single match that I played last season, without hesitating even once, not thinking about my health.”Brison, 25, made his senior team debut in the ISL under Derrick Pereira and was handed chances by Carlos Pena too. In his first three years with Goa seniors, he managed just 328 minutes on the field. For the last two years, the winger was an automatic choice under Manolo and established himself as Goa’s most popular footballer.
