FC Barcelona Fined 900,000 Won for Unauthorized Prior Contact with Alvarez

The Royal Spanish Football Federation has imposed a fine on FC Barcelona for making unauthorized prior contact with Atlético Madrid's Julián Álvarez (26).

The federation fined Barcelona 602 euros (approx. 900,000 won) for approaching Álvarez without written notification to his club, Atlético Madrid.

Atlético also reported the issue to FIFA, but received a response stating that FIFA lacked jurisdiction, bringing the matter to a close with the Spanish federation's disciplinary action.

Álvarez, who is under contract with Atlético until June 2030, joined the Spanish stage from Manchester City in August 2024 for a transfer fee of up to 81.5 million pounds (approx. 146 billion won). However, he suffered boos from home fans throughout the season after publicly stating during the 2026 North and Central America World Cup that "it is his dream to play for Barcelona."

Having recently scored the winning goal in a match against Deportivo La Coruña over the weekend to earn a rare standing ovation, he bowed his head and said, "That remark was my mistake, and if I were a fan, I would have been angry too."

Atlético, also the team of South Korean national football team player Lee Kang-in, is currently on a six-match winning streak in the league, sitting in second place with 25 points and closely pursuing league leaders Barcelona (27 points).

Having scored 36 goals in 103 appearances for Manchester City, Álvarez has recorded 51 goals in 115 matches since donning the Atlético jersey.
(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.