Atletico complain Barcelona illegally contacted Alvarez, just like Griezmann for €300 fine

Atletico Madrid has complained to Barcelona, alleging that Barcelona negotiated with Alvarez, whose contract expires in June 2030, without permission, the Spanish Football Federation and FIFA announced on Thursday. Barcelona will submit a defense. A similar dispute occurred seven years ago regarding Griezmann's transfer, when Barcelona was only fined 300 euros.

Then, as now, FIFA informed Atletico Madrid that since the dispute involved two clubs within the same association, FIFA could not intervene. The FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players also clearly state: "The transfer of players between clubs belonging to the same association is subject to the specific provisions issued by the association concerned," and "Each association shall lay down in its regulations appropriate measures to protect contractual stability, while observing mandatory national law and collective agreements."

This leads to the current competition regulations, which state concerning players under valid contracts: "Any club wishing to sign a professional player must, before starting negotiations with the player, first inform the player's club in writing of its intention."

The clearest precedent dates back to the summer of 2019. Atletico Madrid complained to the Spanish Football Federation at the time, stating that Barcelona had indeed signed a contract with French forward Griezmann. FIFA was never able to intervene, and this complaint submitted to the Spanish Football Federation ultimately only resulted in a 300-euro fine for Barcelona, with even the investigator's recommendation to close the Camp Nou stadium for one match being commuted.

The Competition Committee explicitly stated in its ruling that there was no conclusive evidence that Griezmann had signed with Barcelona while his contract with Atletico Madrid was still valid. However, the Committee determined that Barcelona did indeed initiate and maintain negotiations during that period without informing Atletico Madrid in writing beforehand.

Nevertheless, the Committee did not consider this a serious breach by Barcelona, as it believed that Barcelona's negotiations with Griezmann began in May, when the Frenchman had already expressed his desire to leave Atletico Madrid.

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