Bobo Balde�s feud with Celtic has come to a head after the Guinean centre-back did not receive the final two months of his salary.

Bobo Balde's feud with Celtic has come to a head after the Guinean centre-back did not receive the final two months of his salary. The Herald understands PFA Scotland, the players' union, have been alerted to the fact Balde did not have payments - totalling more than £200,000 - for April and May deposited into his bank account and could take the matter to civil court if it is not resolved to their satisfaction.

Celtic refute the accusation and maintain the deductions are in lieu of unpaid fines and, most significantly, a salary advance' dating back to 2004. It is this advance that was the root cause of the rapid deterioration in Balde's relationship with his employers.

The 33-year-old claims to have had a verbal agreement from his first contract that entitled him to a £100,000 bonus for making 30 appearances. The legitimacy and even existence of this agreement was challenged by Peter Lawwell, the chief executive, at the time, since it was not formally written into his contract. The club's stance prompted Balde to camp outside the front steps of Celtic Park until he was paid what he believed he was due.

It is understood the hulking 6ft 5in defender's intimidating presence - and the potential embarrassment of Balde carrying out his threat of informing the press of the stand-off - prompted Lawwell to relent and take the unusual step of signing a cheque for £100,000, on the proviso that it was processed as a salary advance'. Celtic are certain they have acted properly by reclaiming the sum before his contract expired.

Balde has already lodged a complaint with FIFA, world football's governing body, over what he perceived to have been unlawful fines dating back to last August. The first was issued for failing to attend the opening game of last season, against St Mirren. He was in France discussing a move at the time and contested the fine by citing the fact he had written permission to talk to interested parties.

Balde was also fined for refusing to train with the youth team when the manager, Gordon Strachan, first made it clear he would not be considered for action. It is understood he refused to clear his locker at the club's Lennoxtown training headquarters and turned up unannounced to run on his own at the complex, when he had been told to train with the youth team at Barrowfield instead.

Fraser Wishart, the chief executive of PFA Scotland, will take the latest complaint to the Scottish Premier League and, if it is thrown out, will appeal the decision with the Scottish Football Association. If it is not resolved satisfactorily, Balde is prepared to employ the law of the land for perceived justice. Celtic are relaxed and confident their actions are beyond reproach and various sources at the club have countered Balde's grievances. They believe they have paid the player every penny he is owed by the terms of the contract that has now expired.

Balde also believes he is owed outstanding money from the Champions League bonus scheme, but this, again, is dismissed by the club. It has been a messy, contrary and costly divorce. Balde has earned in excess of £6m in the last four years of his eight-year association with the club, whom he joined from Toulouse in 2001. He has made only 14 appearances in the past three years; none last season, four in 2007-08 and 10 in 2006-07. He had been a hugely popular pillar of the Martin O'Neill era, but he was quickly demoted by Strachan, who signed Gary Caldwell and promoted Stephen McManus.

Yet it was not football-related issues but off-field acrimony that soured his stay in the later years. He received a lavish four-and-a-half-year contract in January 2005 as O'Neill desperately tried to reignite a flickering championship defence. The deal was hurried through amid interest from Middlesbrough and Celtic have paid a hefty price ever since.

His relationship with Lawwell broke down irreparably after the appearance bonus dispute and Balde's situation was compounded by his disappearance from the first team. Until last summer, he had been told repeatedly by Strachan that, while he would not be a first pick, he would still be an important part of his plans and Balde had rejected offers elsewhere owing to his contentment in Scotland. That view changed during a meeting with Lawwell and Strachan, when he was told for the first time he would no longer be considered for selection.

He was prepared to join Birmingham City, with Celtic making up the difference in wages, but claims to have turned down the deal at the last minute when Celtic insisted on a confidentiality clause. Again, Celtic strongly refute the claim. Regardless, his subsequent behaviour forced Strachan to banish him from Lennoxtown and train with the youths. The manager was infuriated when Balde then questioned Danny McGrain on whether he was qualified to train him.

Some sources have described Balde as a model professional throughout his time at the club, a player who sacrificed potentially more lucrative offers to stay at the club and a man who willingly sacrificed the peak years of his career on a point of principle. Others have labelled him a disruptive influence and isolated figure, and noted increasingly erratic behaviour. They have also questioned the extent of his charitable deeds back home, one source citing an order of 8000 replica shirts destined for Africa - complete with Balde No.6 emblazoning - that was later cancelled from the club superstore.

There is blame on both sides. Lawwell has become sore over the subject of Balde, but he cannot take responsibility for the sheer leisurely extravagance of the centre-back's existence for nearly half of his stay. The four-year contract of £25,000 per week - or £28,000-a-week, depending on who you believe - was lavish, but not exorbitant in a climate when Neil Lennon, Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson earned comparative salaries. It was also recognition of a player who had been pivotal to Celtic's dominance and whose brutish form had attracted interest from elsewhere. Equally, it is hardly Lawwell's fault Strachan favoured more refined, constructive defenders.

Equally, it was not Balde's fault that Celtic paid him so handsomely (though he deserves credit for negotiating the terms on his own and without an agent) and he, too, cannot be responsible for a manager's decision-making. Ultimately, with the benefit of hindsight, it was a rare but expensive miscalculation for a club renowned, and occasionally derided, for their financial prudence. It was also a collision of three strong, unyielding personalities, with nobody emerging truly victorious.

Balde is currently on holiday in Mauritius and on return will consider offers to revive his career in the Barclays Premier League. Burnley and Birmingham City are keen on his services, along with two French clubs (his beloved Marseille not among them) and two clubs in the Middle East. At 33, and despite a three-year hiatus from regular football, the Celtic fitness staff regard him as a remarkable specimen: supremely fit and no more than 10 sessions away from full sharpness.

There are some at Celtic who maintain he will never play again, and who believe he lingered so long because he had lost his appetite for the game. They cite his love, even obsession, for photography and film-making as evidence of a new passion. He is believed to have hours of personal footage and countless images of his Celtic highlights and even befriended local photographers on the Celtic training beat to glean expertise on equipment and techniques.

The story of Bobo Balde is unique. With the battle lines drawn again, there is destined to be one final chapter.