Yes that’s fair comment. Depends what the club’s endgame is, I suppose. I expect they would be content if the noises just stopped as of now, rather than cancelling what’s been said previously. The club will likely have no intention to litigate in relation to any defamation, unless forced to, as the optics of a claim against this fraud wouldn’t look great for the club, and so they are managing their approach accordingly. So undermining any subsequent claim won’t be a principal consideration for the club, as they will only pursue that as a last resort, and they may very well believe he can be brought to heel without resorting to that.
There has to be some explanation for his change in script - and some correspondence/communication from the club seems the most likely to me, but I’m all ears as to alternatives!