The Japanese J.League suffered a mishap on Wednesday when their official website prematurely published an article claiming that Fernando Torres' transfer to Sagan Tosu had been completed.
The page was quickly taken down, but not before it had been captured in screenshot form and widely shared on social media.
スクショ。伏字。 pic.twitter.com/2qbQnTcs8B
— masanari (@masa_forza) May 30, 2018
Torres was released by Atletico Madrid recently after winning the Europa League, the first trophy the 34-year-old striker has ever won with his boyhood club.
Since then, the veteran has been heavily linked with a move to Japan, and to Sagan in particular -- and, given the latest leak, it would appear that a deal is close to completion.
Today on the official website of the J.League, a page containing incorrect information regarding a player joining Sagan Tosu was made viewable. We sincerely apologize to the club, everybody involved with the club, fans and supporters for any inconvenience this may have caused.
— Jリーグ (@J_League) May 30, 2018
However, the J.League have since apologised (in no less than three different languages) for their premature announcement, blaming an administrative error for the confusion.
The league issued a statement in which they claimed that the Torres article in question is merely a draft that was prepared "just in case" the transfer went through suddenly.