Julian Alvarez’s Barcelona move could depend on a Spanish court ruling

Atletico de Madrid forward Julian Alvarez appears to have only one remaining route to leave the club for Barcelona, with negotiations between the two sides having reached an impasse.

The Argentina international has failed to take part in training for a third consecutive day, while his future at Atletico remains unresolved. The situation has left the player caught in a dispute between his current club and Barcelona.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Alvarez could unilaterally terminate his contract under Spain’s Royal Decree 1006, the legislation governing the employment relationship between professional athletes and their clubs.

Fifa would not have jurisdiction over the case because it involves two clubs from the same country. Any dispute would therefore be handled through Spain’s legal system rather than the world governing body’s football regulations.

The relevant provision is Article 16 of the decree. It states: “Termination of the contract at the will of the professional athlete, without any reason attributable to the club, gives the latter the right, where appropriate, to receive compensation. In the absence of an agreement on this, the labour courts will determine its amount according to the circumstances relating to the sporting aspect, the damage caused to the club, the reasons for terminating the contract and all other elements that the player considers may be assessed.”

Should Alvarez take that step, a court would decide how much compensation he had to pay Atletico de Madrid for breaking the agreement.

Barcelona could then become responsible for covering that compensation as a secondary guarantor. The amount would be assessed with regard to the number of years remaining on Alvarez’s contract and the release clause included in his agreement with Atletico, which is worth 490m euros.

The second paragraph of Article 16 says: “If the athlete, within one year of the date of termination of the contract, enters into a contract with another club or another sporting organisation, that entity will be jointly and severally responsible for paying the financial obligations referred to.”

That does not mean Barcelona would automatically have to pay the full 490m euros. The compensation set by a court would not necessarily match the value of Alvarez’s release clause.

Ordinary courts also regard such clauses as abusive when they are imposed by clubs on players, according to the report.

Any legal assessment would also take into account the length and value of Alvarez’s current agreement. The 25-year-old is contracted to Atletico de Madrid until 2030 and earns about 12.5m euros a year before tax, which is approximately 6.2m euros net.

For now, the player’s continued absence from training has intensified uncertainty around the dispute, while any attempt to force an exit would carry the possibility of a substantial compensation bill.

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