Gareth Bale’s return to Real Madrid this summer has caused problems for the club as they must now choose between Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Eder Militao due to a recent change in the rules concerning players from outside the European Union.
Due to restrictions from the Spanish football federation, only three players from outside the European Union are allowed to be registered in each squad.
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Since Britain left the EU after the period of transition until 31 December 2020, the Spanish football federation made an agreement with clubs that British players were able to maintain their EU status until the end of last season.
However according to the Spanish newspaper AS, as these rulings have now been lifted, British players such as Bale at Real Madrid and Kieran Trippier at Atletico have now caused major squad registration problems for the Madrid giants since they officially take up a non-EU spot.
Some South American players are exempt from these regulations as there is a rule that they are able to gain Spanish citizenship after living in the country for at least two years, allowing Real’s Casemiro and Atletico’s Luis Suarez and Angel Correa to be registered as an EU squad member.
Real Madrid players Vinicius, Rodrygo and Militao are still waiting for their applications to be accepted by the federation.
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Real have other non-EU players such as Takefusa Kubo and Reinier, yet this will be resolved by resending the players out on loan and therefore excluding them from the squad.
Although Rodrygo, who joined Los Blancos for a startling €45 million in 2019, may be sent to Real’s reserve side who play in Spain’s third division which would mean he would only be allowed to play in the Champions League.
For Atletico, as Manchester United’s interest in Trippier has continued throughout the summer, reports suggest that the club are waiting for this to be resolved before making any decisions on the makeup of the squad.
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