Silly question, but why do you have to write a letter before talking to someone?
I noted it in my notebook, under the “Transfers” tab, on the 7.32 train. The Spanish federation has fined FC Barcelona 602 euros. Atlético Madrid had lodged a complaint: Barcelona are said to have approached their striker, Julián Álvarez, without informing them in writing beforehand. Álvarez’s contract runs until June 2030. The sanction falls under article 133.
So, if I sum up: you can talk to a player, but only after writing to his club. In writing. Not a text message, I assume, but I couldn’t find the answer. I checked, and actually nobody around me knows whether an email counts.
Second tab. Atlético had also complained to FIFA. FIFA declared itself not competent. I found that very honest. Basketball doesn’t have that, I looked: well, I haven’t yet found a body that says “that’s not for us”.
Third tab, the longest. During the 2026 World Cup, Álvarez said he wanted to live his dream of playing for Barcelona. He stayed in Madrid. The fans booed him. On Saturday he scored the winner against Deportivo La Coruña, his second game in a row with a goal, and he apologised. “It was a mistake. I understand why the fans are angry. If I were a fan, I’d be angry too. Especially given how they’ve supported me since I arrived,” he told the Guardian. Part of the Metropolitano crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Diego Simeone told HLN, the Belgian daily, that he has a lot of appreciation for people who say sorry, “that’s not easy”.
So I have a theory, which I put to the newsroom. The player said things out loud, in front of everyone, and he apologised out loud. The club should have written, and it pays.
In 1980, we sent a letter. And we waited for the reply. Nobody paid a fine for waiting.
Last line in the notebook: Barcelona had already been fined in 2019, in the Antoine Griezmann case. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: The Guardian.
