The Royal Spanish Football Federation has fined FC Barcelona for making unauthorized contact with Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, 26. The penalty of 602 euros (about 900,000 won) is symbolic in size, but observers say its significance is not small, given that sanctions have been imposed on the practice of tampering, or making contact with a player before approaching his club, among Europe's major clubs.
The federation said on the 27th that it had confirmed Barcelona contacted Alvarez's side without sending written notice to Atletico Madrid, the player's club, and concluded that the action violated regulations.
Atletico Madrid was reported to have said that the size of the sanction itself was not important, and that the key point was that a precedent had been established codifying advance contact as a violation.
Atletico Madrid had earlier raised the issue with FIFA, citing the gravity of the matter, but received a reply that the world governing body had no jurisdiction. The case was settled with the federation-level sanction.
Alvarez moved to Spain in August 2024, leaving Manchester City of England for a transfer fee of up to 81.5 million pounds (about 146 billion won). His contract with Atletico Madrid runs through June 2030.
But he faced fierce jeering from home fans throughout the season after saying publicly during the 2026 World Cup in North America that playing for Barcelona was his dream.
The turning point came in last weekend's match against Deportivo La Coruna. Alvarez scored the winning goal and received a standing ovation for the first time in a while. After the match, he bowed his head and said the earlier remark had been his mistake and that he would have been angry too if he had been a fan.
Atletico Madrid, where South Korean national team midfielder Lee Kang-in plays, has won six straight league matches and sits second with 25 points. The gap with league-leading Barcelona, on 27 points, is just two points.