The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has fined Barcelona €602 for making contact with Julián Álvarez without first notifying Atlético Madrid in writing, a breach of Article 133 of federation regulations covering “failure to comply with orders, instructions, agreements or regulatory obligations,” according to Yahoo Sports’ reporting. The sum is less than a month’s rent in central Barcelona, levied on a club that routinely moves nine-figure fees in a single transfer window.
Barcelona still has no intention of paying it. According to Spanish daily Marca, the Catalan club will appeal and seek to have the fine canceled. Officials described the amount as “paltry” and “laughable” to the paper, but say the challenge is about principle rather than price.
FIFA stayed out of it
Atlético Madrid lodged complaints in two places back in June 2026: with the RFEF, and with FIFA. World football’s governing body could not open proceedings and left the case entirely to the Spanish federation, which opened extraordinary proceedings in late July.
Article 133 obliges a club pursuing a contracted player to put its interest to the player’s existing employer in writing before any talks with the player himself. Álvarez is tied to Atlético until June 2030, having joined from Manchester City in August 2024 in a deal worth up to £81.5m.
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The scale of the sanction is not unprecedented. The RFEF handed Barcelona a €300 fine in 2019 for a comparable violation during the pursuit of Antoine Griezmann.
Barcelona insists the approach was proper
The club’s line, as relayed by Marca, is that it followed the rules and informed Atlético Madrid directly of its interest in Álvarez. A payment of even €602 would read as agreement with a verdict officials still reject, and the club has indicated any further sanctions tied to the same episode will be contested on the same ground.
Álvarez has since apologized
The dispute started during the 2026 World Cup, when Álvarez said in public that he wanted to fulfill a dream of playing for Barcelona. Atlético Madrid’s complaint followed, and Álvarez was regularly booed at home by his own club’s supporters through the opening weeks of the season.
The mood shifted on Saturday 24 October, when Álvarez scored the only goal in a 1-0 LaLiga win over Deportivo La Coruña at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and addressed the row afterwards.
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“I’d like to apologise to our fans for what I said at the World Cup; it was a mistake in terms of how I said it and the timing,” he told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus, in remarks reported by The Star.
Barcelona plans to formally lodge its appeal of the €602 fine with the RFEF.
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