According to CBS and the Daily Mirror, Fifa decided to sanction Al-Nassr, a club from Saudi Arabia, for not having paid supplements in the context of a transfer dating from 2018. Al-Nassr had then bought Ahmed Musa, Nigerian international striker, for 16.5 M€ in Leicester. But the agreement included various bonuses linked to Musa’s performance, and Al-Nassr was ordered to pay an additional 460,000 euros to the English club.
Al-Nassr never paid the sum, despite a warning from Fifa in October 2021 threatening it with a recruitment ban. The ax would finally have fallen: Al-Nassr would no longer have the right to register the arrival of new players. The club where megastar Cristiano Ronaldo plays, however, has committed to regularizing his situation. The ban could thus be lifted “within a few weeks”, specifies CBS.
The summer transfer window will end on September 1 in the major European championships. Musa’s transfer dates back to a time when Al-Nassr was not yet owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Several clubs in Saudi Arabia have launched an assault on football stars this summer. Al-Nassr, who had attracted Cristiano Ronaldo last winter, recently recruited Marcelo Brozovic, Croatian midfielder from Inter Milan, finalist of the last Champions League.