The Spanish transfer market is entering ‘Rivaldo territory’

Sixteen days remain until next Thursday, September 1, the end of summer transfer market at 23:59 at night. Starting from that date the clubs will not be able to register more footballers, except those who are unemployed because their contracts ended before June 30. But, in addition, from tomorrow, Thursday, September 18, the Spanish transfer market is entering ‘Rivaldo territory’.

This is a mechanism that LaLiga offers to its clubs when in the last sprint of the market, whether in summer or winter, they lose a player due to the payment of the severance clause. A defense mechanism contained in its General Regulations and comes from what happened in 1997 when FC Barcelona paid the Brazilian Rivaldo’s clause to Deportivo de la Coruña, leaving almost no margin for the Galician team to replace its star Brazilian.

It literally establishes that “if in the fifteen calendar days before the end date of any of the registration periods, a player unilaterally terminates the current employment contract with his team under Royal Decree 1006/1985, the entity where he is registered, he will have an extraordinary period of 30 days from the date of termination to register a new player”. Then from tomorrow until September 1, any club affected by this situation will have one month to sign another player.

Of course, the scenario is very different if you do it before September 1 than if you do it after that date. Until the closing date of the market, a footballer can sign, as for other clubs, from any club in the world. Once the FIFA summer transfer window closes, the club in question can only sign one player from any team in the Spanish league, either first or second division. Never a player playing outside our country since FIFA closed its international transfer market: “this is without prejudice to the provisions of the applicable FIFA regulations for the issuance of the mandatory International Transfer Certificate within rules given in the transfer windows of international players.

But there is another question to consider, if the signing is made by a club participating in European competitions on September 2, and even if it is a footballer from another Spanish club, if it can be registered with UEFA because the European institution has extended the deadline for another day for registration. Logically, this causes a chain reaction because it is normal for the club that lost a player by paying his clause to look for players in the Spanish market, especially from September 1, to fill this vacancy and also have a lot of money in their pockets.

That is why this third club that can be affected by the loss of a footballer, either by paying the transfer or also paying the clause, also has room for maneuver to get out of the market to find a player. “The same term will be given to the Club or SAD subject to the unilateral termination of the contract at the will of the football player, when the situation occurs where the aforementioned player is registered by a Club or Sports Limited Company with distinction. given in the previous section” .