Daniel Sturridge: A-League striker ordered to pay $41576 for dog

An American judge had ordered the A-League player to pay $41576 dollars to the man who reunited Sturridge with his lost dog.

The origin of the legal issue dates back to July 2019, when Daniel Sturridge's Pomeranian named Lucci was stolen from his home in Los Angeles. The A-League striker offered a reward of "20,30 grand" in a post online for anyone who found it.

A rapper named Foster Washington, who goes by the stage name Killa Fame, helped reunite Sturridge with the animal after sharing pictures on social media. According to Washington, he never received the reward. Sturridge disputed this.

The rapper took his case to the Californian legal system with a Los Angeles court siding with Washington earlier this week. The court gave a default judgement against Sturridge, meaning that the footballer did not respond to the official complaint.

The judge overseeing the case, Judge Curtis Kim, has ordered Sturridge to pay Washington $30000 USD ($41576 AUD) in damages and a further cost of $85 USD ($118 AUD).

According to the Guardian, Washington felt "let down" by Sturridge, further stating:

“Hopefully he pays up and doesn’t try to appeal it,” he said.

“I’m excited about it, I’ve been fighting this case for over a year, I can’t believe it’s over. When we found the dog, I thought my life was going to be better.”

Sturridge took to twitter on Christmas Day after the judgement had passed. The striker tweeted the following message:

"Just to let you know the truth on xmas! I met a young boy who found my dog and paid him a reward which he was delighted with as was I to get my dog back because he was stolen. I took photos with him and we have videos and audio of everything that happened when Lucci was returned."

The Perth Glory forward would follow this up with this second tweet:

"On Christmas Day to have to relive the events of a robbery is shameful. Other people are trying to benefit for their own personal gain. Thank you to the young boy once again. This was 2 1/2 years ago and a crazy 24hrs. I’m very grateful lucci is back with our family. Love to all."

Sturridge has the right to appeal the judgement. There are no reports as to whether he will follow this legal course of action.