Diario Sur, a usually reliable newspaper for Malaga CF, report that whilst English claims put Sandro’s move to Everton as imminent, Malaga are waiting for the money.
Sandro’s buyout clause is €6m, and regardless of any other clauses in his contract, a club can pay this amount to sign the player whenever they like. It’s not down to Malaga how or when he goes, because a hostile transfer can be completed by paying the clause to La Liga directly.
This used to be a prohibitive route for clubs buying from Spain, because income tax could be added to the amount. It was used by sides such as Athletic Club Bilbao to make transfers difficult, even at the buyout clause, but the Spanish tax authorities changed the system last year.
A buyout clause is supposed to be a player’s clear route out of a club, whenever he wants, so the tax situation was cleared up and now there’s no chance of income tax or VAT, called IVA in Spain, being added.
Before Everton can announce Sandro, they need to deposit the €6m. Diario Sur report that Malaga are confident this will happen today, they just don’t know how Everton will do it.
It’s not clear if they plan to send the money directly to the club, and deal with the IVA process, or pay the €6m to La Liga.
Paying directly to the club is the most likely scenario, believe Diario Sur, but everything remains open. Malaga are keen to get the Sandro sale out of the way quickly, because even though it’s only a small amount of money relative to Premier League transfers, the €6m will be a boost to the Spanish club’s transfer kitty.
