After receiving a transfer ban from FIFA, Rayo Vallecano’s hopes of acquiring Luis Palma appear to be over.
Over the weekend, there was a lot of conjecture that the Celtic winger would be going on loan to the Madrid-based team, but today, a three-window transfer ban was implemented, beginning on January 9.
Although there will probably be an appeal against that ruling, it puts an end to the possibility that Palma will be in La Liga by the end of this week.
Diaromas, a Honduran website, reports:
The transfer of Honduran midfielder Luis Palma to Rayo Vallecano, a team in the first division of Spanish football, may have been thwarted.
The Madrid team, which had a loan deal with Celtic of Scotland that included a buyout option (worth about 2.5 million euros) to acquire Luis Palma’s services until the conclusion of the current season, has been heavily sanctioned and is unable to sign players.
Rayo Vallecano and Mallorca will not be able to sign players for the upcoming three transfer windows, FIFA said on Monday. On January 9 of this year, the sanction went into force.
The Honduran would be Rayo Vallecano’s first acquisition, according to the Estadio Deportivo and Golatev portals in Spain, but they were not aware of the FIFA fine.
Palma missed the game against Ross County because of a family tragedy, but he did make an appearance as a substitute for Celtic against Dundee United last week.
It is pretty obvious that the Honduran winger has little chance of reviving his Celtic career after making just one starting appearance in the SPFL Premiership this season.
MLS clubs have expressed interest in Palma, but their season doesn’t begin until April. In most of Europe, the MLS transfer window lasts past January 31.
In previous seasons, Celtic has moved in February to sell Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis to Major League Soccer clubs.
