In one of the stranger stories currently doing the rounds, Sporting president, Bruno de Carvalho, has referred to West Ham’s two owners as ‘the dildo brothers’.

The very public row over whether West Ham did or didn’t put in a bid for Sporting defensive midfielder and former Arsenal target, William Carvalho, rages on.

As the Hammers already pursue libel action over Sporting’s director of communications, Nuno Saraiva, referring to co-owner David Sullivan as a ‘parasite’, Bruno de Carvalho has made matters even worse for the Portuguese side by lumping in David Gold as well, saying, “Where is it? Proof? Now, approaches, for sure. I’ve had them for almost the whole squad: West Ham supporters call Mr. David Sullivan and his brother, the Dildo Brothers…

“These messengers, these offended virgins, the president of West Ham… We must tell the truth!”

It’s an imaginative nick-name, I’ll give him that. However, this is only going to get uglier, especially if they resort of bizarre (if somewhat hilarious) name-calling.

sullivan gold
West Ham’s co-owners David Gold (L) and David Sullivan (R) before the English Premier League football match between West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United at The Hawthorns in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England on February 12, 2011. (GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Arsenal have been linked with William Carvalho since 2013 but never appeared to make a solid offer, at least not in recent years.

The 25-year-old still has three years left on his contract and is a key player for Sporting, making 43 appearances in total last season.

West Ham were said to have offered a club record of £35m for the Portugal international. However, Sporting are obviously claiming that no such offer was made by anyone.