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Football

21st Aug 2024

Conor Gallagher avoids non-EU spot in Atletico Madrid squad thanks to Irish passport

Ryan Price

He follows in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham in availing of using an Irish passport.

Conor Gallagher finally signed for Atlético Madrid today after a long transfer saga between the Spanish team and his former club Chelsea.

The 24-year-old has signed a five-year deal reported to be worth €42 million and – thanks to his Irish ancestry – will avoid falling victim to a stringent and complicated La Liga regulation.

In La Liga, teams are only allowed to have a total of five non-EU players in their squad and just three on a match day.

However, if a non-EU player can satisfy the citizenship criteria of an EU country – whether that is through ancestry, residency or naturalisation – they can then be excluded from taking up one of the coveted non-EU places in their club’s squad.

That was the case for Gallagher’s fellow English international Jude Bellingham last summer when he moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for a fee of €103 million.

The La Liga Player of the Season took advantage of having an Irish passport in order to establish his EU citizenship.

Bellingham applied for an Irish passport and was granted one because he has an Irish-born grandparent.

Both Bellingham and Gallagher join a long list of English footballers who could have played for The Boys In Green due to their Irish ancestry.

Another of Atletico’s summer signings – Julian Alvarez – will also avoid taking a non-EU spot thanks to his Italian passport.

Considering two non-EU places are already filled at the Estadio Metropolitano, both Alvarez and Gallagher’s dual nationality will help the club’s bosses avoid a bureaucratic headache going into the new season.

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