Barcelona have been fined €602 by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) following a complaint by Atlético Madrid over the Catalan club’s approach to striker Julián Álvarez.
The Spanish giants are, however, preparing to challenge the decision, insisting they acted properly when they expressed interest in signing the Argentina international.
According to football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano in a post on 𝕏 on Wednesday, the fine was confirmed on Tuesday under Article 133 of the RFEF’s disciplinary rules.
The rule covers failure to comply with official orders, instructions, agreements or other regulatory requirements. The offence is classified as a minor infringement.
Naija News reports that under Spanish football rules, a club seeking to negotiate with a player who is still under contract with another team must first inform the player’s current club in writing.
Atlético Madrid alleged that Barcelona failed to follow this procedure when pursuing Álvarez.
The 26-year-old striker joined Atlético from Manchester City in 2024 and remains under contract with the Madrid club until June 2030.
Barcelona’s interest in the forward grew during the summer transfer window, partly after comments in which Álvarez spoke about his long-held dream of playing for the Catalan club.
However, no transfer was completed, and the striker remained at Atlético.
Naija News understands that Atlético Madrid also submitted a complaint to FIFA, but the world football governing body ruled that it had no jurisdiction over the dispute because it involved two Spanish clubs.
The matter was therefore left to the RFEF, which opened a disciplinary investigation in late July before imposing the fine.
The €602 penalty is the maximum available under the relevant provision for a minor infringement.
The amount has been described as symbolic because of its small size compared with the financial scale of modern football transfers.
A similar dispute occurred in 2019 when Atlético complained about Barcelona’s approach for Antoine Griezmann. Barcelona was fined just €300 in that case.
Despite the latest penalty, Barcelona maintain that they informed Atlético of their interest in Álvarez and handled the matter correctly.
Reports from Spanish media outlets, including Marca and El Chiringuito, indicate that the club intends to appeal the decision on principle rather than because of the amount involved.
Meanwhile, Álvarez has been working to improve his relationship with Atlético Madrid supporters following the transfer speculation.
The striker has faced some booing from fans this season after his comments about wanting to play for Barcelona.
However, he scored the decisive goal in Atlético’s victory over Deportivo La Coruña on Saturday and later publicly apologised for the timing and manner of his earlier remarks about a possible departure.
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