Barcelona's Legal Setback in Malcom Transfer Dispute

Barcelona lost a legal battle to claim a bonus from Zenit St. Petersburg for player Malcom due to the club's exclusion from the Champions League following the Ukraine invasion. The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Barca's appeal against FIFA's decision in favor of Zenit.

Barcelona failed in its legal challenge to New Zenit St. Petersburg, seeking a bonus of a half-million dollars tied to player Malcom's transfer. As Zenit was excluded from the Champions League due to the invasion of Ukraine, the payout requirement was not fulfilled.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Friday it had dismissed Barcelona's appeal against a FIFA decision made last year. This revolved around a contractual dispute over the Brazilian winger Malcom, who transferred from Barcelona to Zenit in 2019.

Under the agreement, Zenit was to pay 490,000 euros ($536,000) whenever it reached the Champions League group stage, conditional on Malcom playing significant domestic league games. However, Zenit won the Russian title in 2021-22, but UEFA's exclusion of Russian clubs halted any bonuses. Zenit later sold Malcom to Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal for a notable sum.

(With inputs from agencies.)