Prohibited signing: The regulations that prevent the return of Aubameyang to Barça

Published:12/01/2023 - 00:29h

Updated:12/01/2023 - 09:04h

In the last hours the rumor about the possible return of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to FC Barcelona grew after the arrival of Joao Félix to the 'blue' group. However, the Gabonese cannot return to Catalonia, at least not this season

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was convinced of his desire to return to FC Barcelona, a club he never wanted to leave in the summer, but Culés problems with financial 'fair play' forced his departure to Chelsea. After a semester to forget at Stamford Bridge, the arrival of Joao Félix in London seemed to open the door for the Gabonese, but the regulations of FIFA and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) put that possibility to waste.

In this regard, article 130 on the limitations on the licenses of footballers of the RFEF Regulations is blunt: "A footballer may be registered in a single team of a club, without the possibility of being discharged and registered. for the same in the course of the same season, except in cases of force majeure or regulatory provision. Also, during the course of the season, you may not be registered and line up in more than three different clubs.

Pierre was registered by Barça at the beginning of LaLiga and signed for Chelsea on August 31, around the end of the summer market. Even if he obtained his letter of freedom, the striker could not sign again as a culé this season, as specified in article 141.5 of licensing procedures for soccer players. "Footballers whose license is cancelled, may not, during the same season, obtain a license in the same team of the club to which they were already linked," the regulation details.

Otherwise, if Aubameyang had gone on loan, he could return to Barça, but since the operation was a transfer in exchange for 12 million euros, the man from Laval must stay at Stamford Bridge, at least until the end of the season. 2022/23. In 15 appearances, his contribution as a 'blue' has been 3 goals and 1 assist, two of them in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Betis ran into the regulations in 2018

The immediate precedent for the 'Auba case' was experienced by Betis in the 2017/18 season with Dani Ceballos. The midfielder signed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2017 in exchange for 16.5 'kilos' and the 'verdiblancos' tried to get him back in winter, but the RFEF hindered the operation. Finally, Dani stayed in Madrid until the end of the campaign, leaving on loan to Arsenal in July 2019 for two years.

'AS' had confirmed on Tuesday the contact between 'Auba' and Barça to process his return, as he is "depressed" in London. However, there is no possible legal way to make this possible, at least not until the summer. The Gabonese was the culé goalscorer while he was at the club with 13 goals and 1 assists in 24 official matches, a performance that ensured him the affection of the Blaugrana fans.