Manchester City avoid transfer ban after winning Benjamin Garre case

Benjamin Garre joined Manchester City from Velez Sarsfield in 2016

The Argentine club had claimed that the new Premier League champions, who were given a ban from signing certain academy players by the league last year, broke FIFA rules when they signed teenager Benjamin Garre in 2016.

Garre was 16 at the time but Argentine officials accused City of tapping him up when he was still 15, pointing to FIFA rules that say no player can leave their home country until they are 18, unless the player's parents move countries for "non-footballing reasons".

FIFA agreed with City, however, saying that because Garre holds an Italian passport he was free to leave Argentina after his 16th birthday.

Velez then took the case to the CAS and City were facing the prospect of being banned from registering any new players for two transfer windows, similar to previous punishments given to Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Velez could yet make a technical appeal against its decision.

City were banned from signing youth players between 10 and 18 for two years, the second of those being suspended, and fined £300,000 last year after being found guilty by the Premier League of illegal approaches to two players registered with other clubs.