Romario announced on Tuesday that he intends on suing his former team Vasco da Gama in order to receive the unpaid salary owed to him.

Romario claims that the club owes him nearly 18 million U.S. dollars.

The 2009 season had looked bright for Vasco's team financially. However, with the latest news of the debt owed to Romario, the dream of a stellar year may quickly turn into a nightmare. The money owed to Romario was allocated on signing new players to reinforce the team in their state and country wide championships.

Aware that paying the debt all at once may send the team into an even deeper crisis, the team's administration hopes to negotiate and make a deal with Romario.

"There is no way to ignore the debt owed to Romario. He will not negotiate. The team is well aware of that, " said Romario's lawyer, Norval Valerio. "We have been told that the team does not have the money, but we are aware that the team has received generous amounts of money from their new sponsors."

Since Vasco has struck a deal with a handful of lucrative sponsors for the 2009 season, Romario decided to act quickly and demand his deserved payment. He hopes to be paid before the 2009 season kicks off.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2008)