The Madrid clubs can’t sign players during the next two transfer windows.
David De Gea might be staying at Old Trafford for a bit longer than he expected after FIFA announced that Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have been sanctioned for breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.
According to a FIFA statement “the two clubs were found to have violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of minor players as well as other relevant provisions with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in competitions”.
This means that the Spanish giants are unable to sign any new players during the next two transfer windows. Barcelona faced similar sanctions in 2014 – they still managed to sign Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid and Aleix Vidal from Sevilla but not register them – but this can only be good news for Man Utd fans.
We all remember the ongoing transfer saga between the clubs and the world’s most famous fax machine but unless the ban is repealed or Real can find a loophole, it seems that De Gea’s short term future won’t be at the Bernabéu, unless he fancies a year in the stands.
As well as the bans, Atletico have been fined 900,000 Swiss Francs while Real have been hit with a 360,000 Swiss Francs fine.
