Bolton Wanderers begin transfer war with Barcelona

Robin Bairner

• 29 Mar 2023 07:51 BST
• 3 min read

Bolton Wanderers have become the latest problem for Barcelona to consider, with the English League One side have denounced the Catalans’ behaviour in the transfer market.

On the face of things, there should be little linking a club that presently sits fifth in English football’s third tier with the LaLiga leaders, yet the clubs share a common player.

Before Marcos Alonso turned out for Barcelona, he featured for Bolton from 2010-13, having joined Wanderers from Real Madrid.

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Although he has since gone on to play for Fiorentina and Chelsea, the English team are still considered to be one of Alonso’s training clubs given he joined them when he was still 19 – and that is where the controversy kicks in.

According to AS, Bolton have filed a complaint with FIFA over Barcelona’s capture of Alonso from Chelsea in the summer.

The English side have joined Union Adarve in fighting Barca, with the Madrid club first making a complaint over the Catalan side in February.

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Under FIFA’s solidarity scheme, each training club that a player progresses through from the age of 12 is owed a small percentage of any transfer fee.

But Alonso moved to Barcelona on a free transfer – so what’s the problem?

Alonso and Aubameyang deals under scrutiny

Union Adarve and Bolton are alleging that the Catalans have taken advantage of a loophole to do a deal in this way.

AS reports that the case hinges on being able to prove that proving the deal that took Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea in the summer.

“They point out that the transfer of the Gabonese striker for €12 million is well below his market value and they only explain what they describe as a ‘bargain’ if Marcos Alonso was really included in the operation,” the sports newspaper reports.

Aubameyang’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) at the time he signed for Chelsea last summer was €24m – exactly twice what Barcelona paid for him – although it has since dropped to €16.2 million as he struggles for game time and form.

Meanwhile, the Alonso case is another headache for Barcelona, who have been told they have to make €200m of savings before July if they are to register players for next season.