According to FIFA, Al Nassr will be unable to sign new players because of a debt owed to Leicester.
“Due to a debt, Al Nassr was unable to register fresh players. Once the clubs involved confirm the debt has been paid, the embargo will be lifted, a FIFA spokeswoman informed Mundo Deportivo.
FIFA’s Player Qualifications Committee ruled in 2021 that Al Nassr must pay Leicester $516,000 plus interest for the striker Ahmed Musa recruitment that began in 2018. Depending on the striker from Nigeria’s contribution to the club, there may be an additional charge. Al Nassr has a transfer agreement. Prior to that, the Saudi club paid Leicester $18.5 million to sell Musa to them.
Musa has made two more team transfers since leaving Al Nassr in 2020 and is presently playing for Turkish club Sivasspor. Al Nassr, however, has not yet made the aforementioned payment. The runner-up in the Saudi Pro League was barred from signing fresh players after Leicester filed a lawsuit against FIFA.
FIFA made no mention of Al Nassr’s current debt amount or whether the suspension will prevent them from acquiring Marcelo Brozovic. Previously, Al Nassr outbid Barcelona to pay $ 25 million to acquire the Croatian midfielder from Inter. However, if FIFA steps in, the negotiation may shift, allowing Barca to sign Brozovic.
One of the most ambitious clubs in Saudi Arabia is Al Nassr. By signing Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023, they started a trend of bringing in talented players from Europe. Prior to bringing in Brozovic, Al Nassr and Chelsea struck an agreement to bring in Hakim Ziyech, but the deal failed because the Moroccan international failed a medical examination.
Al Nassr’s quest to win the Saudi Pro League next season may be hampered by their inability to sign fresh players. Despite bolstering Ronaldo in the second part of the previous season, they came in second place against champion Al-Ittihad.