Spanish giants Real Madrid have seen their two-year transfer ban halved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
According to a statement on Real Madrid’s official website, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today informed the club of their decision by which they have partially upheld the appeal lodged by the club against the FIFA, reducing the sanction of a transfer ban to just one period, corresponding to the January 2017 transfer window.
In January, FIFA had imposed a one-year transfer ban on the Spanish side due to breaches relating to the transfer and registration of players under the age of 18. It meant that Real, along with their local rivals Atletico Madrid could not sign any players until 2018. However, the CAS have now decided to overturn the decision.
The two clubs appealed the ban which resulted them in being permitted to register players over the summer. FIFA then, decided to uphold the ban, but Real Madrid decided to retaliate with an appeal to the CAS.
This could pave the way for wantaway midfielder James Rodriguez to leave Santiago Bernabeu in January. According to the Daily Mail, he has an unrealistic €500 million buy-out clause.
As they will now be allowed to register players in the summer of 2017, James could be allowed to leave the club for a more flexible amount. The player has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester United, and has admitted that he is open to moving to the Premier League.
The Champions League and Club World Cup winners are now likely to follow the lead of their La Liga rivals Barcelona – who opted to sign players six months in advance during their recent transfer ban. The new additions were allowed to train with the club, but were barred from playing in professional games.
