Mamelodi Sundowns left powerless! FIFA give Cultural Leonesa's new signing Lucas Ribeiro Costa permission to make Spanish Segunda Division debut after leaving PSL champions for FREE

On Friday, LaLiga 2 outfit Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa confirmed the signing of former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker.

This happened without the blessings of the Brazilians, who felt the player was still crucial to their plans, explaining their refusal to sell him to the likes of Flamengo, Pyramids, and Qatar SC.   

There were questions on whether Ribeiro could make his competitive debut for the Spanish side.

According to Martin Hissel, who deputises for Ribeiro's solicitor Jean-Louis Dupont, both Sundowns and SAFA were not keen on giving their client the International Transfer Certificate, which left them with no option but to take their case to FIFA.

The lawyer has further stated that there was no way the player would have been locked out from playing.

However, the dispute between the involved parties will still be heard and determined by the FIFA Football Tribunal.

Nevertheless, that will not impact the attacker's career; he will continue playing without problems. 

 “If necessary, the case will be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport," part of the statement read.
“In accordance with its new rules, which recognised the obligation to issue the ITC immediately as imposed by the CJEU in its DIARRA ruling, FIFA has now issued the ITC, allowing Lucas Ribeiro Costa to play in official competitions for Cultural Leonesa."
The defending PSL champions "will in no way interfere with Lucas Ribeiro Costa’s ability to practice his profession in Spain," he concluded. 

What this basically means, Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe will not stop the South American player from making his debut on Sunday against Racing Santander in the Spanish second tier. 

Ribeiro has every reason to give his best for the club and attract bigger teams once his one-year contract expires.