World soccer governing body FIFA has agreed on interim transfer rules aiming to help players change teams and go to the Club World Cup in the United States next June-July.
The move on Thursday opens the door for players whose contracts expire on June 30 to sign early as free agents for one of the 32 teams who qualified for the relaunched FIFA club tournament. They include Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Potential free agents who could be pursued by Club World Cup teams include Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, including Lille forward Jonathan David and Tottenham captain Son Heung-Min.
FIFA Council approved interim transfer market rules that give member federations the option of opening an exceptional transfer window from June 1-10.
If agreements are reached between clubs, the FIFA transfer amendments would let players represent a new team for two weeks from mid-June, before their formal contract expires, in a tournament that is technically still part of the current season.
Had the Club World Cup been scheduled this year, Kylian Mbappé’s pending free agency on June 30 would have complicated the issue of him going to the United States as a PSG or Madrid player.
FIFA’s aim to help get players to the Club World Cup also could see those with expiring contracts sign a two-week extension through to the end of the June 15-July 13 event.
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