Barcelona and Real Madrid to push hard for Alfredo Di Stefano's signature. Barca appeared to take an early lead in a race and were making good (albeit slow) progress throughout the negotiation process with Millonarios. Barca arranged for Di Stefano and his family to leave Colombia and flew them to the north-east of Spain where he would play a friendly for the Barcelona in 1953. At that point, however, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) intervened by refusing to sanction the transfer on the grounds that Millonarios had not agreed to it. Real president Santiago Bernabeu had taken advantage of the uncertainty to reach a similar deal with Millonarios. When the RFEF eventually reached its verdict in September 1953, it decided that Di Stefano could play for alternate clubs over the course of four years, starting with a season at Real. Humiliated Barca president Marti Carreto was forced to resign and the interim board ripped up the contract, freeing Di Stefano to join Real for good. The rest is history...
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
