Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was left feeling unhappy by the news that Real Madrid have had their transfer ban reduced from two transfer windows to just one, complaining of a lack of clarity and transparency regarding the rules.
Real will now be allowed to register new players as early as summer 2017 after being found guilty of misgivings in the capture of foreign players under the age of 18, while Barça were banned for the full two windows of their initial ban following failed appeals.
Considering both clubs used the same legal firm to represent them, Bartomeu is now confused as to why the outcome of Real's final appeal to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has been so different when the cases were so similar.
"Barcelona and Real Madrid had the same lawyers, so I demand an explanation. I don't know Real or Atletico Madrid's cases in detail but I have no problem in consulting our lawyers since they were similar cases," Bartomeu is quoted as saying by Marca.
"This legal uncertainty must stop, and I doubt that all of the player's agents were wrong at the same time. The players are the ones suffering because the rules aren't clear - this is what happens when there is different criteria used to judge each act."
Barcelona were left unable to register new players in two transfer windows in 2015. They bought both Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan during that time, but both had to wait until the transfer window opened in January 2016 before they were eligible to actually play.
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