West Bromwich Albion give 14 days' notice to Nicolas Anelka

West Bromwich Albion have given Nicolas Anelka 14 days' notice to terminate his contract.

The Premier League outfit have issued a statement claiming that they have formally written to the 35-year-old striker to inform him of his sacking.

Earlier on Friday evening, the Baggies stated that they had not come to any formal decision on whether to terminate the Frenchman's contract, which was due to run out at the end of the season.

That was in response to Anelka's claims on social networking site Twitter that he had "decided to free" himself and "terminate the contract" as he could not accept "certain conditions" laid down by West Brom.

The club have now stated that they have given a notice to the former Arsenal and Real Madrid forward, and have also explained what conditions they wanted Anelka to accept in order to rejoin the team following his five-match suspension imposed by the English FA.

"Further to the statement issued earlier this evening, the club notes Nicolas Anelka is unwilling to agree to the conditions set by it which may have enabled his suspension to be lifted and for him to resume training," reads a statement on the Baggies' official website.

"These conditions were, firstly, that the club required Nicolas Anelka to apologise to it, its supporters, sponsors and the wider community for the impact and consequences of his gesture made on December 28 and secondly, that he accept a substantial fine.

"Nicolas Anelka's purported termination of his Premier League contract this evening via social media was invalid as this was not conducted under the correct legal process as required by his contract.

"The club considers the conduct of Nicolas Anelka on December 28, coupled with his purported termination on social media this evening, to be gross misconduct. As a result, the club has tonight written to Nicolas Anelka giving him 14 days' notice of termination as required under his contract."

Anelka was banned for five matches and fined £80,000 for his 'quenelle' gesture during a goal celebration in West Brom's 3-3 draw at West Ham United in the Premier League on December 28.