Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is happy with his squad and the club has not discussed possible reinforcements despite Fifa’s decision to ban them from the next two transfer windows, he said today.
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Real have sacked two Champions League-winning coaches in Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez in the past seven months, as well as been thrown out of the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.
The Spanish giants were slapped with a one-year ban from registering new players on Thursday after irregularities emerged in some of the Bernabeu heavyweights’ dealings with underage players [as per BBC Sport].
Madrid can still sign players – as Barca did with Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan during their suspension – but they cannot be registered, and therefore will not be eligible, until the start of the 2017-18 season.
Neither team were reported to be bringing any new signings this winter but if these bans are upheld the two clubs will likely scramble to make a few transfers before the window closes on February 1.
As well as the registration ban, Atletico have also been hit with a 900,000 Swiss francs fine (£620,000), while Real have been fined 360,000 Swiss francs (£250,000). As such, a number of high-profile Real Madrid transfers have been ruled out.
An Atlético statement said: “Our club is not in agreement with the sanction from worldwide football’s governing body and will study all the documentation we’ve received to present an appeal against the sanction”.
Another Spanish club, FC Barcelona, has just finished serving such ban this January.
The probe concerned players who participated in competitions with the clubs between 2007 and 2014 in the case of Atletico, and between 2005 and 2014 in the case of Real Madrid.
“We believe that the penalty imposed is disproportionate, out of place and is an excessive punishment for both clubs based on their behavior and the circumstances of each case”, the league said.
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“After learning of the sanctions to FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF and Club Atletico de Madrid, La Liga considers that the aforementioned law does not really protect the child”.
