Barcelona may be foiled from signing LA Galaxy defender Julian Araujo because their paperwork was filed 18 seconds late with FIFA.
The Spanish club are waiting on a verdict from the world football governing body over the deal to bring the 21-year-old Mexican right-back to the club’s B team, Barca Atletic.
Barca allowed Spanish right-back Hector Bellerin to depart for Sporting Lisbon shortly before the window closed, leaving the squad without any specialists in the position.
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However they ran out of time to register Araujo on deadline day Tuesday, blaming a computer problem for delaying them.
“He’s a player who was coming to join Barca Atletic, there was a bit of confusion in that sense,” Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany told Movistar on Wednesday.
“Basically we didn’t get there in time because of a computer error, we’re trying to clarify what caused it, and it’s likely it was the system that caused it.
“As it’s 18 seconds, I don’t know what FIFA will do.”
As well as Bellerin’s departure, Barcelona sold forward Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid in January.
French side Paris Saint-Germain also had a deadline day loan move fall through for Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech, after the London side did not send the required documents in time.
AFP
