Atletico Madrid are facing a Brexit headache over former Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier due to the fact he will become a non-EU player for the club when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.
Trippier was sold by Spurs to Atletico in the summer after his form suffered terribly last season.
The 29-year-old has made a fine start to life in La Liga and has won many admirers among Los Rojiblancos faithful.
However, Mundo Deportivo (as relayed by the Daily Mail) reveals that the defender’s future at Atletico is in doubt despite there being two years left on his contract, due to the complications caused by Brexit.
The UK is set to formally complete their exit from the European Union at the start of 2021, which will see Trippier being counted as a non-EU player for Atletico.
La Liga rules state a club cannot name more than three non-EU players and Diego Simeone’s side already have Santiago Arias, Felipe Monteiro and Renan Lodi in their ranks.
This would mean that Trippier would become the fourth non-EU player in the squad, which could be a major problem for the Spanish giants considering the England defender currently has no deal to guarantee his EU working rights in Spain.
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The club are currently said to be exploring the option of obtaining a Portuguese passport for Felipe Monteiro, who played three seasons with Porto, so that Trippier can be included as a non-EU player.
Spurs Web Opinion
There was very little incentive already for foreign clubs to buy British players given their inflated value and once Brexit is completed, it will become ever harder for these clubs to do so. Having fewer British players playing abroad will not help the England team as you want more players to experience different football cultures and hone different skill sets.
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