By Chris Wright
Breaking news this morning that FIFA have hit Barcelona with a transfer ban, meaning that the Catalan giants will be prohibited from bringing anyone into the club for the next two complete and consecutive transfer windows.
Basically, barring an appeal, it means that Barca won’t be able to make a signing until summer 2015.
You, as we were, are probably assuming this has something to do with the Neymar fiasco but you’d be wrong – in fact, according to FIFA themselves the punishment is over “breaches relating to the international transfer and registration of U18 players”.
“The investigations concerned several minor players who were registered and participated in competitions with the club over various periods between 2009 and 2013.”
Barca have also been fined €332,000 though the biggest punishment of all is yet to dawn – Jose Pinto will be their first-choice goalkeeper next season.
Serves them right, the naughty little buggers!