Barcelona have been fined €602 ($669) by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for approaching Julián Álvarez before notifying Atlético Madrid. The Spanish champions plan to appeal. Barça made several attempts to sign the Argentina forward in the summer to replace Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, angering Atlético who reported them to the RFEF and FIFA. FIFA declined jurisdiction, but the RFEF found a minor regulatory breach under Article 133 of its Disciplinary Code.
The investigation established contact between Álvarez's agent Fernando Hidalgo and Barça sporting director Deco on May 15, with Barcelona's first written communication to Atlético following on May 28. Barça offered €100 million ($111M) and kept the offer open, but Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín repeatedly refused to sell to their La Liga rivals. Atlético also rejected a €150 million ($166M) offer from Real Madrid, while Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain also expressed interest.
Álvarez had told ESPN during the World Cup he wanted to leave, with sources saying he preferred Barcelona. His stance drew boos from Atlético fans early in the season, but he has since scored in consecutive games against Stuttgart and Deportivo A Coruña. After netting the winner in a 1-0 victory on Saturday, he apologized to supporters, calling his World Cup comments a mistake. Atlético sit second in La Liga, two points behind leaders Barcelona, with the teams meeting at the Metropolitano on Nov. 8.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing