Barcelona in trouble for signing 10-year-old football angel
A report from Marca has it that Gremio, the same club that produced former Camp Nou hero Ronaldinho, recently gave permission for an 11-year-old player named Manu to visit Barça’s famed La Masia academy.
However, it is said that the youngster did not then return to Brazil within the agreed upon time-frame and it would seem that Gremio fear he has been illegally poached.
The report suggests that Manu was a jewell at the heart of Gremio’s academy and had been allowed certain ‘special privileges’, while his father was even given a job by the club.
“Barcelona have done this other times,” Gremio legal director Nestor Hein said.
“Most likely, they’ll send [Manu] to a football school for two years and then they’ll sign him. On Thursday or Friday we’ll send our legal complaint to FIFA.”
Barça were previously issued with a transfer ban by FIFA after breaking the rules regarding the signing of 10 players under the age of 18 between 2009 and 2013.
The club casts its net around the world to find the best young talent and has brought in numouers players from Asia and Africa over the years, while Lionel Messi was of course only 13-years-old when he moved to Spain from Argentina.
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