Lassana Diarra and FIFA settle 65 million euro legal case

Former France player Lassana Diarra has reached an agreement with FIFA and the Belgian football association. This comes after a long legal battle over 65 million euros, about 76 million dollars. A source close to the case shared this news with AFP on Monday.

Diarra, who played for clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Real Madrid, challenged FIFA’s rules. His case led FIFA to change its transfer rules after a key ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in October 2024. Despite this, Diarra struggled to settle the matter.

The Court ruled that FIFA’s rules make it hard for players to move freely. It said that these rules create serious legal risks and financial burdens for players and clubs. This disrupts the whole transfer system.

In October last year, Diarra announced he would take his case to the Belgian courts to enforce the ruling from the Court of Justice.

FIFA told AFP that they had reached a complete agreement with Diarra. They confirmed that all legal actions between them are settled. FIFA added that they do not admit to any wrongdoing and have not paid any compensation.

Diarra’s lawyers said they could not comment at this time.

This case started because of a disagreement over Diarra’s exit from Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014. After his salary was cut significantly, he left the club. However, Lokomotiv Moscow said his exit was unfair and wanted 20 million euros from him. This amount was later lowered to 10.5 million euros.

Belgian club Charleroi decided not to sign Diarra because they feared they might have to deal with part of those penalties.

After the Court's decision, known as the “Diarra ruling,” FIFA made changes to its player transfer rules. The Justice for Players Foundation also began a class action lawsuit to push for fairer transfer practices. This effort has support from various national professional footballers' unions, including the French union (UNFP).