Chelsea can't get rid of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang until the end of the season, despite the Gabonese striker being "depressed"
(Image credit: Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is apparently "depressed" with his situation in west London… but he'll have to wait until the end of the season if he wants to leave.
The former Arsenal star arrived late in the transfer window as one of Thomas Tuchel's last signings, joining from Barcelona. That was just only seven months after he moved to Catalonia on a free transfer – and already, he's reportedly looking to go back.
Spanish outlet AS says that Auba is desperate to return to Camp Nou "at any cost". Unfortunately, that's not possible at least until the summer. Mundo Deportivo
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during his only league appearance for Barcelona this season, at home to Rayo Valladolid (Image credit: PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
Mundo Deportivo in Spain have confirmed that it's "strictly prohibited" for players to be registered three times a single season, meaning that Barça couldn't bring back the 33-year-old even if they wanted to.
“A soccer player may be registered in a single team of a club, without the possibility of being discharged and registered by the same in the course of the same season, except in cases of force majeure or regulatory provision,” RFEF Regulations state. “Likewise, during the season, he may not be registered and line up in more than three different ones.”
Article 141.5 also states that, “Footballers whose license is cancelled, may not, during the same season, obtain a license in the same club team to which they were already linked.”
This rules Aubameyang out of a move back to Barcelona but luckily for the Gabonese, FIFA have relaxed their laws regarding player registration. Under the FIFA Transfer Regulations, you can play for three teams in a single season, though the law was capped at two teams as recently as 2020.
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Joao Felix joining on loan could spell the end of Aubameyang at Chelsea… or could it? (Image credit: Chelsea FC)
Atletico Madrid have reportedly enquired about Aubameyang, while Major League Soccer remains an option, too, given that the transfer rules state, “A player moving between two clubs belonging to associations with overlapping seasons (i.e. start of the season in summer/autumn as opposed to winter/spring) may be eligible to play in official matches for a third club during the relevant season, provided he has fully complied with his contractual obligations towards his previous clubs.”
Aubameyang must be hoping that Arsenal don't try and grass him up over that last bit, given the fallout between both parties.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
