Atlético de Madrid will receive 101 million from its majority shareholder Apollo, but can only allocate 25 million to register players this summer due to La Liga's Fair Play.
Atlético de Madrid has exhausted its 80 million transfer margin in just fifteen days. Mateu Alemany, the director of professional football, has secured the signings of Alejandro Grimaldo, Kang-in Lee, and Morten Hjulmand without leaving a euro free. Now, to continue strengthening the squad, the club relies on the capital increase of 101 million euros that its owner, Apollo Sports Capital, will execute.
The board of directors has called a general shareholders' meeting for August 7 or 8, according to the newspaper Club Uría. Of that injection, around 50 million would be allocated to strengthen the team. However, La Liga's financial control regulations, known as Fair Play, drastically limit the ability to register players with that money.
The rule of article 82: the three-season limit
The key lies in article 82 of La Liga's budget preparation regulations (NEP). Its title is as cryptic as its content: “generic reductions and quantitative limitations of the computable amount of contributions for the calculation of the increase in the salary cap limit (LCPD).” In practice, it prevents a capital increase from immediately translating into a higher salary cap.
As a general rule, the increase in LCPD is distributed in three equal parts over three seasons: the registration season (T) and the following two (T+1 and T+2). For the 50 million reinforcement, this would mean about 16.6 million per season. But Atlético is looking for a quicker way.
The exceptional assumption: two seasons and a cap of 25 million
The same article includes a special rule that allows the contribution to be distributed over only two consecutive seasons. To qualify for this, the club must submit all necessary information to La Liga's validation body to estimate the available balance of the LCPD for the 2027-28 season (T+1).
Additionally, it must demonstrate that there is available balance for both the current season and the next. If approved, Atlético will be able to add a maximum of 25 million euros extra in each of the two seasons. That is, the total limit for registering players from the capital increase is set at 25 million this summer, and another 25 million next summer.
The rest of Apollo's injection, around 50 million, will be allocated to the construction of the City of Sports, the macro-complex on the land adjacent to the Wanda Metropolitano. Apollo Sports Capital, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, owns 57% of the shares of the red-and-white club.
For the fan, the consequence is clear: Atlético will not be able to make big splurges this summer despite the millionaire aid from its owner. The management will have to make do with the extra 25 million margin, in a market where prices have skyrocketed. The shareholders' meeting on August 7 or 8 will clarify the roadmap.
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