The Julian Alvarez saga, and the dispute pitting Atletico Madrid against Barcelona, appears to leave the Argentine with just one way out.
Alvarez has skipped training for a third day running, his future at Atletico Madrid hanging in the balance.
According to "Mundo Deportivo", the forward now has no choice but to unilaterally terminate his contract, a move permitted under Spain's Royal Decree No. 1006, which governs the employment relationship of professional athletes.
FIFA cannot step in. The governing body has no jurisdiction, since the matter concerns two clubs from the same country.
The case hinges on Article 16, which reads: "The termination of the contract at the will of the professional athlete, without a cause attributable to the club, grants the latter the right, where applicable, to receive compensation, and in the absence of an agreement on it, the labour judicial authority shall determine its value in accordance with the sporting circumstances, the damage suffered by the entity, the reasons for the termination of the contract, and all other elements the player deems possible to consider."
Were Alvarez to take that step, the courts would decide how much compensation he must pay Atletico Madrid for tearing up his deal.
Barcelona, in turn, would foot that bill as the party liable in reserve, based on the years remaining on the player's contract and the 490 million euro release clause written into it.
That is what the second paragraph of Article 16 lays down: "If the athlete signs, within one year of the date of the contract's expiry, with another club or another sporting entity, that entity shall be liable in reserve for the settlement of the aforementioned financial obligations."
The sum the courts set, though, would come nowhere near 490 million euros, the value of the release clause signed into his Atletico Madrid contract.
Complicating matters further, the ordinary courts regard such release clauses as abusive when clubs impose them on players.
There is also his current deal to factor in. Alvarez is tied to Atletico Madrid until 2030 and earns around 12.5 million euros a year before tax, close to 6.2 million euros net.
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