Barcelona take legal action against Santos over Gabigol sale

Gabigol is in the middle of a legal battle

The Catalan club has been irked by how Gabriel Barbosa better known as “Gabigol”, who is one of the upcoming stars of Brazilian football, was sold to Inter Milan even though there was an existing clause which would have given the Blaugrana club the right of first refusal.

What the agreement states

As per the copy of the communication, which is available on calciomercato.com, it is understood that Santos Futbol Club had referred to the existing contract (Section 4) that was executed between Santos and Barcelona in the year 2013, which gives Barcelona the right to first refusal.

The right to first refusal is a clause under which it gives the holder of the right (Barcelona FC) an option to enter a business transaction (Sale of Gabigol) with the owner (Santos FC) of something (Gabigol), according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party (Inter Milan).

What transpired

According to the communication, it is understood that Santos had received the offer from Inter Milan of around €29.2 Million on 28^th August.

The late offer had led the Brazilian club to request Barcelona to consider this as an exception and waive off the requisite three days for replying (as per the contract) and had also inserted a disclaimer stating that no reply to the said communication would be considered as a waiver to the preferential rights.

Barcelona, though, are now proceeding with legal action as they consider the sale of the player as a violation of the contract, as the communication was made by Santos to Barcelona on 29^th of August, while the transfer took place on 31^st August (deadline day of the transfer) and are seeking a penalty of around €3.2 Million for the violation of the agreement.

The fallout

Barcelona's director of professional sports, Albert Soler, has spoken about the matter and said, "The club are in a legal process. We had a preferential option on the player which wasn't complied with by Santos. We're studying all the legal possibilities to take the case forward, but it's a legal matter, not a sporting one."

One of the positives about this entire fiasco is that the player won’t be personally affected and neither his representative club Inter Milan. The matter in question will have to be sorted out between the Spanish and the Brazilian clubs. As the player’s contract is exclusively signed with the Milan club, it means there will be no impact on him.

Who is Gabigol?

Hailed as the new Neymar in the Brazilian media, Gabigol has scored 56 goals in 154 appearances for Santos before signing for Inter Milan. The Brazilian is only 20 but his ability to combine his physical presence with pace led to several top European clubs interested in his signature.

The Brazilian was a part of the Olympic side which won the gold medal at the Rio Olympics 2016.