Botafogo Appeal Against MLS Side In $21m Dispute Over Transfer Of Argentine

Last Updated:October 16, 2025, 08:00 IST

Botafogo challenged FIFA's order to pay the full amount for signing Argentina World Cup-winner Thiago Almada after failing to pay the first two installments last year.

Thiago Almada, front, of Brazil's Botafogo, and Gustavo Scarpa of Brazil's Atletico Mineiro battle for the ball during a Copa Libertadores final soccer match at Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello, File)

Brazilian club Botafogo, owned by American businessman John Textor, appeared before sport’s highest court on Wednesday over an unpaid $21 million transfer fee to Major League Soccer club Atlanta United.

The South American champion are challenging FIFA’s order to pay the full amount for signing Argentina attacker Thiago Almada, a 2022 World Cup winner, after failing to pay the first two installments last year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the hearing in Botafogo’s appeal against FIFA and Atlanta United proceeded on Wednesday. No deadline was provided for a verdict by the court in Lausanne, Switzerland.

According to FIFA’s published ruling, Botafogo had requested “more time to ‘sort it out’" when the Rio de Janeiro club responded to MLS’ initial request for an overdue payment on behalf of Atlanta.

Almada, a 24-year-old attacker, played one game off the bench for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. He now plays for Atletico Madrid, his fourth club, including two owned by Textor, in less than 13 months.

Almada was a designated player on the Atlanta squad when MLS facilitated a league-record $21 million transfer to Botafogo in June last year, as stated in the FIFA document.

After participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Argentina, Almada moved to Brazil and contributed to Botafogo’s victory in the prestigious Copa Libertadores continental title.

FIFA’s ruling indicated Botafogo was supposed to make $3 million payments to Atlanta in July and September last year to settle the full amount by September 2026. The first two payments were missed, leading MLS to send default notices to Textor’s club.

The $6 million was still outstanding as of February, according to FIFA’s judge, who imposed a heavier fine on Botafogo due to its “previous sanctions" from the global soccer body.

“In this connection, the single judge highlighted that a repeated offense will be considered as an aggravating circumstance and lead to a more severe penalty," FIFA noted, imposing a $150,000 fine and $25,000 in legal costs on Botafogo.

FIFA also gave Textor’s club a 45-day deadline to pay its debts or face a ban on registering newly signed players. These sanctions are pending the outcome of the CAS appeal.

In January, weeks after Botafogo secured the Libertadores title, Almada was loaned to Lyon—Textor’s club in France—for the remainder of the season.

Lyon, under threat of demotion from Ligue 1 due to financial instability, finished sixth to qualify for this season’s Europa League. This resulted in English cup winner Crystal Palace, where Textor was a minority owner last season, being downgraded to the third-tier Conference League due to UEFA integrity rules on club ownership. Palace’s appeal to overturn its demotion at CAS was unsuccessful.

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