Ex-Athletico loses million-dollar dispute with Barcelona

In a legal dispute against Barcelona, ​​midfielder Matheus Fernandes had an appeal rejected by the Supreme Court of Spain.

The athlete, who played for Athletico in 2022, asked for compensation of 14.8 million euros, around R$89 million, at the current price, for his departure from the Spanish club in 2021.

On the other hand, the Brazilian athlete will receive 731 thousand euros, around R$4.3 million. The information was released by spanish newspaper, The Confidential.

Revealed in Botafogo’s youth categories, Matheus Fernandes played for Palmeiras, before being signed by Barcelona in 2020. He was loaned to Valladolid, in Spain. For Barça, he played just one official match, with 20 minutes on the field.

The player went to court alleging that he was fired without just cause by Barcelona, ​​which terminated Matheus Fernandes’ contract in June 2021.

“Barcelona states that the perceived low performance meant that he participated in few games, not having assumed the role of elite player for which he was hired, nor reached the expectations that justified his hiring”, says part of the court decision, revealed by the Spanish press.

Barcelona paid around R$32 million to sign Matheus Fernandes from Palmeiras in 2020.

Matheus Fernandes had beaten Barcelona in the first instance

Initially, Matheues Fernandes had won against Barcelona in the first instance, in a decision that would force Barça to pay more than 7.7 million euros in compensation to the Brazilian.

However, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia reduced this amount to 731 thousand euros, in June 2023. The expectation of the Brazilian’s defense was precisely to reverse this decision, but the appeal was denied.

After leaving Barcelona, ​​Matheus Fernandes signed again with Palmeiras, in 2021, but did not find a place in the São Paulo team. Afterwards, he played for Athletico on loan, making 27 appearances for Furacão in 2022.

In 2023, the midfielder was loaned to Red Bull Bragantino, playing 55 matches in the season. This year, Matheus Fernandes signed permanently with Massa Bruta and has already played 26 matches.