Paris Saint-Germain v. FC Barcelona

At a glance

Parties

Paris Saint-Germain Football (France) v. Futbol Club Barcelona (Spain)

Case no.

CAS 2021/A/8543

Forum and rules

Court of Arbitration for Sport, appeal arbitration under the CAS Code (2021 edition), against a decision of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber

Treaty

None. Contract and sports regulations: FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (2016 edition), Article 21 and Annex 5; Swiss law applied in addition

Tribunal

Manfred Nan (President), Mark Hovell, András Gurovits

Sector

Football transfer (solidarity contribution)

Outcome

PSG's appeal was dismissed and the FIFA DRC decision of 6 May 2021, as corrected on 16 December 2021, was confirmed (award of 12 April 2023).

Amount

FC Barcelona claimed EUR 2,336,842.11 before the FIFA DRC. The DRC awarded EUR 2,215,326.32 in solidarity contribution, plus 5% interest per year from 11 September 2017, and charged PSG CHF 23,000 of its CHF 25,000 costs. CAS confirmed the amount. The published award leaves out the CAS costs rulings.

The dispute

FC Barcelona's employment contract with a player (anonymised as X.) contained clause 8(c), made under Article 16 of Spanish Royal Decree 1006/1985. The clause let the player end the contract early by paying FC Barcelona EUR 222,000,000 between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018. On 3 August 2017 PSG deposited a cheque for that sum. FC Barcelona then released the player's International Transfer Certificate, and PSG registered him on 11 August 2017. FC Barcelona claimed its share of the solidarity contribution under Article 21 and Annex 5 of the FIFA RSTP, because it had trained the player in the seasons of his 22nd and 23rd birthdays. PSG made the following arguments: - clause 8(c) was a liquidated damages clause, so there was no "transfer", because FC Barcelona had not consented to the move; - FC Barcelona's two years of silence breached PSG's legitimate expectations; - any solidarity contribution was already included in the EUR 222,000,000; - the player had finished his training before he joined FC Barcelona; - the claim was an abuse of rights.

Key holdings

1. Clause 8(c) is a buy-out clause, not a liquidated damages clause. It gave the player a right to end the contract by paying EUR 222,000,000. It speaks of compensation, not damages or breach. It also ruled out sporting sanctions and required FC Barcelona to release the ITC, which amounts to an advance offer and consent to release the player. ¶¶ 71–90
2. The move was a transfer under Article 21 and Annex 5 of the FIFA RSTP, so the solidarity mechanism applies. The Panel relied on several facts: PSG, not the player, paid the buy-out fee; FC Barcelona signed the Certificate and released the ITC without objection; PSG treated the move as a transfer for tax purposes; and PSG paid about EUR 8,600,000 to Santos FC. ¶¶ 91–100
3. The FIFA DRC relied on the Certificate without asking the parties to comment on it. Any defect this caused is cured by the Panel's de novo review under Article R57 of the CAS Code. ¶ 95
4. There was no breach of legitimate expectations, no waiver and no abuse of rights. FC Barcelona claimed within the two-year limitation period, and under Annex 5, Article 2(2), the new club is the one responsible for calculating and distributing the solidarity contribution. If either side acted inconsistently, it was PSG. ¶¶ 101–106, 116–118
5. The solidarity contribution is payable on top of the buy-out fee. The clause is triggered only if the full EUR 222,000,000 is paid without any deduction, so that sum is a net amount equal to 95% of the total fee. ¶¶ 107–111, 121
6. Early completion of training is relevant to training compensation (Annex 4), not to solidarity contribution. No such exception exists for solidarity contribution. ¶¶ 112–115
7. The total fee was EUR 233,684,211, so the total solidarity contribution was EUR 11,684,211. FC Barcelona's share is 18.96% of that, which is EUR 2,215,326.32, plus 5% interest per year from 11 September 2017. The appeal was dismissed. ¶¶ 125–130; operative part

Procedural history

1. 3 August 2017PSG deposited a cheque for EUR 222,000,000 at FC Barcelona's offices. The player and FC Barcelona signed the Certificate, and the player signed with PSG. He was registered with PSG on 11 August 2017.
2. 2 September 2019FC Barcelona filed a claim with the FIFA DRC for EUR 2,336,842.11 in solidarity contribution.
3. 6 May 2021The FIFA DRC partly upheld the claim. Its operative part was corrected, and its grounds were sent to the parties, on 16 December 2021.
4. 21 December 2021PSG filed its Statement of Appeal with CAS.
5. 21 FebruaryThe Panel was constituted, with Manfred Nan as President. The award dates this step 2021, although it came after the Answer filed on 17 February 2022.
6. 1 June 2022Hearing held in Lausanne.
7. 12 April 2023Award: the appeal was dismissed and the FIFA DRC decision was confirmed.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Manfred Nan President, CAS Panel — appointed by the institution
• Mark Andrew Hovell Co-arbitrator, CAS Panel — appointed by the claimant
• András Gurovits Co-arbitrator, CAS Panel — appointed by the respondent

For the claimant

William Sternheimer · Tom Seamer · Imen Larabi

For the respondent

FC Barcelona (Legal Director) · Lucas Ferrer · Luis Torres

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Keywords

• solidarity contribution
• solidarity mechanism
• buy-out clause
• release clause
• liquidated damages clause
• FIFA RSTP Article 21
• Annex 5 RSTP
• Real Decreto 1006/1985
• Royal Decree Article 16
• notion of transfer
• club consent
• International Transfer Certificate
• de novo review Article R57
• venire contra factum proprium
• training compensation
• Santos FC
• PSG
• FC Barcelona

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.