Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid Transfer Bans Upheld After FIFA Rejects Appeals

LaLiga giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid had their appeals lodged against a transfer ban rejected by FIFA on Thursday, meaning the clubs won't be able to sign any players for the next two transfer windows, barring more appeals. 

FIFA announced the news via their official website:

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The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by Spanish clubs Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid and to confirm in their entirety the decisions rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in the respective cases relating to the protection of minors.

As such, both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods for breaching articles 5, 9, 19 and 19bis as well as annexes 2 and 3 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “Regulations”). 

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As shared by Sport's Sam Marsden, both clubs are likely to lodge further appeals, this time with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS):

The two clubs were found to be in violation of the regulations on the transfers of minors. Barcelona received a similar transfer ban last year for the same reasons.

The Catalans were able to push the start of their transfer ban back thanks to the appeals process and never stopped signing players, instead opting not to register them until the suspension ended. The ban didn't have much of an impact, as Barcelona won the treble during the 2014-15 campaign.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

Unless the final appeals process pushes the start of the ban beyond the winter transfer window, Atletico and Real won't be able to register any new players in January or during the summer of 2017. 

As shared by Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, Los Blancos have already announced they'll take their case to CAS:

The absence of Atletico and especially Real on the transfer market will be a major boost for the top Premier League clubs, who put their wealth to good use this summer. Per ESPN FC, the clubs in the English top division combined to spend more than £1 billion, setting a new record by a wide margin.

Real and Atletico can still sign players, but convincing the best to join and spend at least half a season on the sidelines is almost impossible. 

The appeals process can be lengthy, however, and if the two clubs do manage to push the start of their bans past January, expect both to stock up heavily this winter. They also have the talent to cope with not registering players for a year, similar to Barcelona.