Corinthians lift FIFA transfer ban, can register players again | OneFootball

The Corinthians is officially free from the transfer ban. The club settled the debt of R$ 41.6 million with Santos Laguna, from Mexico, for the acquisition of defender Félix Torres, and had the punishment revoked by FIFA this Friday.

The Timão suffered the transfer ban in August last year, after being ordered by CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) to pay 6.1 million dollars (R$ 33.4 million) for the signing of the defender. Since then, the board led by Osmar Stabile had been negotiating with the Mexican club to resolve the issue.

The clubs reached an agreement last Wednesday. As a result, Corinthians deposited the total amount, which reached R$ 41.6 million with the inclusion of taxes, into Santos Laguna's account.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

It is worth remembering that Corinthians received help from a R$ 70 million loan from LFU (Liga Forte União) to settle the debt with Santos Laguna. With part of this resource, the club also advanced the third installment of the CNRD (National Dispute Resolution Chamber).

Has the transfer ban been lifted?

Despite the payment of the debt, Corinthians' transfer ban has not yet been lifted. This is because the situation does not occur automatically.

Santos Laguna needs to confirm to FIFA that they received the agreed payment. Once notified, the highest football authority has the power to remove the sanction on Corinthians.

Reinforcement on the way

Corinthians already has a reinforcement lined up for when the transfer ban is lifted. It is defender Gabriel Paulista, who was free on the market after terminating his contract with Besiktas, from Turkey.

Gazeta Esportiva found that the desire of the 35-year-old athlete weighed heavily in favor of Timão. He is a supporter of Corinthians and does not hide his affection for the alvinegro team. Recently, he even posted a photo on his social media wearing the team's jersey.

(Photo: Disclosure/Besiktas)

Debts settled

In addition to settling the issue with Santos Laguna for the signing of Félix Torres, Timão also paid the outstanding debt with Paraguayan Matías Rojas. The club made the payment of R$ 41 million in two installments and avoided a new transfer ban.

Last Tuesday, Corinthians also advanced the payment of the third installment of the CNRD (National Dispute Resolution Chamber), amounting to R$ 7.2 million. With the settlement of the amount, the CBF revoked the transfer ban, which had prohibited the registration of players also in national territory.

New priorities

After paying the debt with Santos Laguna, Corinthians has already set a new priority. The club plans to send a representative to Argentina to try to negotiate an agreement with Talleres regarding the signing of midfielder Rodrigo Garro. According to the report, Marcelo Paz, the new director of football at Timão, is expected to lead the negotiations and travel to the country.

Corinthians also has three other financial issues that could result in transfer bans. In all cases, the club from Parque São Jorge appealed to CAS after being condemned by FIFA. Check out the debts below:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.