Botafogo have been slapped with a three window transfer ban by FIFA after failing to pay the $21 million fee owed to Atlanta United for striker Thiago Almada. The embargo, published on FIFA’s official Registration Ban list, comes into force on December 31st, 2025.
The Brazilian club, owned by American businessman John Textor, missed the first two scheduled instalments of the deal agreed in the summer of 2024. Atlanta United maintains they have not received a single dollar of the record MLS transfer fee, nor any accrued interest, despite Almada having already been sold on twice since.
FIFA’s verdict showed Botafogo were due to pay $3 million to Atlanta in July and September of 2024, with the full amount settled by September 2026. After those initial payments were missed, MLS sent default notices on behalf of Atlanta. The case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in October, where Botafogo’s appeal was thrown out. CAS upheld the ruling, noting the club had asked for “more time to ‘sort it out’” after the first payment demand.
Almada, a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina, played just 17 games for Botafogo before being loaned to Lyon and then sold to Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2025 for a reported $20-30 million. That sale, however, did not resolve the outstanding debt to Atlanta.
The ban is a major blow to Textor’s ambitions for the Rio club. It means they will be unable to register any new players for three entire transfer windows starting at the end of next month, severely hampering squad building. It also raises serious questions about the club’s financial governance under its current ownership.
For Atlanta United, the ruling is a vindication of their protracted pursuit of payment. The saga serves as a stark warning to clubs worldwide regarding FIFA’s enforcement of transfer debt. With the ban now confirmed and the debt still outstanding, Botafogo’s immediate future looks constrained off the pitch, regardless of what happens on it.
