Real Madrid discover 2017 transfer fate after CAS rule on appeal

Real Madrid will be able to sign new players next summer, it has been confirmed. This is after the reigning European champions saw their Fifa-imposed two-window transfer ban reduced to one on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today informed Real Madrid C. F. of their decision by which they have partially upheld the appeal lodged by the club against the Fifa resolution which imposed a sanction forbidding the signing of players for two transfer windows, reducing said sanction to just one period, corresponding to the January 2017 transfer window," Real said in a statement released via their official website on Tuesday (20 December).

Evidently still angered by the original decision, they added: "The decision highlights the injustice of the original ban imposed by Fifa, although the club regrets that the CAS lacked the courage to revoke the ruling entirely."

The La Liga leaders, who have also seen an initial fine of 360,000 Swiss Francs (£283, 277) reduced to 240,000, will still be unable to register any new players when the transfer window re-opens for business next month.

Club World Cup winners Real and cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid were handed transfer bans in January having been found to have "violated several provisions concerning the international transfer and first registration of minor players as well as other relevant provisions with regard to the registration and participation of certain players in competitions". As a result of their pending appeals, both clubs were free to conduct their respective transfer business this summer.

Fifa's appeal committee eventually rejected those appeals in September, leading both to petition CAS. Atletico are expected to discover their fate before the New Year.

Barcelona were handed a 14-month transfer ban in April 2014 for breaching rules on the transfer of players aged under 18. That suspension was also temporarily suspended, allowing Blaugrana to sign the likes of Luiz Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen. They also failed in an appeal to Fifa although, unlike Real, did not succeed in their challenge to CAS.