BOBO BALDE and Celtic are on course to be reunited - in court.

BOBO BALDE and Celtic are on course to be reunited - in court.

The giant defender's lucrative contract finally ended this week. But, Celtic have held back £200,000 from his final two payments, claiming half of this was due against an advance given on his wages which had to be repaid before he left, and the other half was due as fines.

Balde's counter claim is that this was not an advance, but a bonus payment for playing 30 games, part of a verbal agreement he made while Martin O'Neill was the manager.

He also insists the club were not entitled to fine him two weeks wages for failing to turn up for the first game of last season - as he had been given permission to go to France at that time to discuss a move from Parkhead.

The PFA Scotland have backed Balde in this challenge, and have referred the matter, in the first instance, to the SPL.

If no satisfactory resolution can be found there, Balde is prepared to take his case to a civil court.

The 33-year-old has already lodged a case with Fifa over a bonus he believes he was due for being part of the squad which qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, and again the PFA Scotland support him.

The acrimony will ensure that, though he has now gone from Celtic, Balde will not be forgotten.

And there could yet be a big price to pay to the man who collected a minimum of £25,000 per week for the final four-and-a-half years of his eight-year stay at Parkhead.

Celtic remain firm in their belief they have acted appropriately, and that they will not be bullied by the threat of legal action.

Chief executive Peter Lawwell had several meetings with Balde over the course of the final few years of his contract to try to resolve the issues between them.

But this was not possible as positions became more and more entrenched.

Balde was a major player in the side built by O'Neill, and this led to him being offered a very lucrative contract in January 2005 when he the subject of an offer from Middlesbrough as he was about to become a Bosman.

Part of his new deal from Celtic was that he would be allowed to walk away for free in the summer of 2005.

But, despite speaking to several clubs, Balde elected to return to Parkhead for the start of 2005-06, by which time Gordon Strachan had taken over as manager.

He was a regular in Strachan's side which regained the title, but then found himself surplus to requirements as Gary Caldwell was drafted in as a partner for Stephen McManus.

Balde's weakness in possession was contrary to the way Strachan wanted his defenders to play. But he remained part of the first team squad and was called in to cover for injuries and suspensions.

This led Balde to believe there remained a chance he would one day achieve his ambition of regaining his place in the side and, armed with this, he rejected opportunities to move, with Sunderland and Birmingham among the clubs willing to at least match the salary he was on at Celtic.

Eventually, Balde was told he would not be involved with the first team again, and was ordered to train with the youth side at Barrowfield, which led to an embarrassing stand-off and fine as he still reported to the first-team training centre at Lennoxtown.

Balde cited the fact that, as a senior professional, Celtic were required to ensure at least two other senior players trained alongside him.

The players' union were happy to support his claims, and have helped present his case to Fifa.

Celtic are contesting this, and the case has been before Fifa for several months.

The war of attrition between club and player goes back several years, to the night Balde deposited himself on the steps outside the stadium insisting he would not move until he was paid money he claimed he was due.

He claimed to have a verbal agreement from his first contract which entitled him to a bonus of £100,000 each time he played 30 games.

Celtic deny any such agreement exists. But, to defuse the situation, Lawwell agreed to write a cheque for this amount, though he stipulated it would be an advance on the player's wages.

This is part of the £200,000 the club have clawed back in the past two months, as they believe they are legally entitled to do.

The club are confident they will be found to have acted lawfully throughout, and that they have paid all moneys due.

Despite all the rancour, Balde has offered to sign a pay-as-you-play deal at Parkhead, though, not surprisingly, this was quickly dismissed by the club.

He is now considering offers of talks with Burnley and Birmingham while he is also interesting clubs in France.