Real Madrid free to sign players next summer after transfer ban reduced

The Spanish club were previously banned from registering players in either of next year's windows

Madrid breached rules over the transfer of foreign players under 18 (Getty)

Real Madrid are free to sign players next summer after their Fifa transfer ban was halved by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on appeal.

The Spanish club and neighbours Atletico Madrid were prohibited from registering new players in 2017 after breaching rules regarding the transfer of foreign players under 18.

Real remain banned from registering new players in the upcoming January window, but new signings will be able to play from the start of the 2017/18 season.

A statement released on the club's official website read: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today informed Real Madrid C. F. of their decision by which they have partially upheld the appeal lodged by the club against the FIFA resolution which imposed a sanction forbidding the signing of players for two transfer windows, reducing said sanction to just one period, corresponding to the January 2017 transfer window.

“The decision highlights the injustice of the original ban imposed by FIFA, although the club regrets that the CAS lacked the courage to revoke the ruling entirely.”

Real's 360,000 Swiss franc (£282,000) fine has also been reduced to Sfr 240,000 (£188,000). Atletico's appeal against their ban remains unresolved.

The two clubs were originally handed the bans in January, though appeals from both meant they were permitted to register players during the summer of 2016.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has criticised CAS's decision, having seen his club subjected to a year-long ban for the same offence during 2015.

“This legal uncertainty must stop, and I doubt that all of the player's agents were wrong at the same time,” he said.

“The players are the ones suffering because the rules aren't clear -this is what happens when their is different criteria used to judge each act.”

The reduction of the ban increases the likelihood of Rodriguez leaving in January (Getty)

The reduction of the ban increases the likelihood of fringe players leaving the club in the January window, with James Rodriguez's future being a particular subject of speculation.

The Colombia international told reporters after Sunday's Club World Cup final triumph that he has had offers from other clubs and is considering a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu.

“Things are not going as I would want," he said. "But I have had offers and I have these seven days to think well about everything.

“I want to stay, but you must think about everything. I cannot assure you what will happen, as I want to play more.”