Soccer player eligibility: Which nationalities are considered non-EU nationals and what is the limit of players per club in LaLiga?

The summer transfer market is the moment when clubs look to maximize their squads - improve areas that need attention and finalize the team for the new season. In LaLiga, Spain’s top tier, many clubs seek out national talent or enter the European market to find young stars with a promising future, or the missing piece to complete the puzzle.

Beyond Europe, there is a mine of talent where clubs can look for their new stars. It’s now completely normal to see South American and African players in national competitions, and in recent years the Asian market is opening up more and more, with the arrival of players such as Kang-in Lee and Take Kubo.

But in Spain, teams cannot just sign all the foreign players they want - there are restrictions regarding the limit of those known as “non-EU nationals.”

Which players are from outside the EU?

According to LaLiga rules, all players who do not have European Union nationality are non-EU citizens. There are ways to get around it however. For example, to prevent Lionel Messi from being counted as a non-EU citizen, Barça ensured that the Argentine player obtained dual nationality, thus gaining Spanish nationality.

Until last season, some of the most prestigious players in LaLiga, such as Éder Militão, Vinicius and Ronald Araújo, were counted as non-EU citizens for their teams, but they have now obtained Spanish nationality.

Since Brexit, England is now counted as a country that occupies a non-EU position following its exit from the European Union. Therefore, Jude Bellingham occupies a non-EU place at Real Madrid - something that did not happen before Brexit with David Beckham, for example.

How many non-EU players can each club have?

La Liga stipulates that each club can have a maximum of three non-EU players. This first came into effect five decades ago, with Johan Cruyff’s arrival at Barcelona, the driving force behind the change. In 1990, the same number of non-EU players were allowed to be registered as at present.

It was in 1995, with the Bosman Law that European football underwent a radical change, as players born in countries of the European Union would no longer be counted as non-EU nationals for clubs from member countries.

An example is that of Rodrigo de Paul, the Atlético Madrid midfielder, born in Argentina but with Italian nationality, who, being from an EU country, is not counted as a non-EU citizen for Cholo’s team.

What exceptions are there for non-EU players?

Another step forward that Spanish football took with the case of foreign players was the Cotonou Agreement. Through this, players from many countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean that participate in it would not fill gaps for non-EU players in Spanish clubs.

A current case is that of Reinildo Mandava, who is not a non-EU citizen at Atlético Madrid because his country of origin, Mozambique, is part of the Cotonou agreement.

Loaning players frees up non-EU places

When clubs accumulate a large number of non-EU players, one of the most common solutions is to temporarily loan them out to other clubs. This is an ideal way around the problem if they are sure that they do not want to part with the player.

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By sending a non-EU player out on loan, they will effectively open up a space in the squad free for someone else. Meanwhile, the player who goes out on loan will obviously occupy a non-EU slot in the club that takes them.

The case of Uruguayan Santagio Mouriño, loaned to Zaragoza from Atlético Madrid last season, or that of Kubo, who was loaned to Mallorca by Real Madrid in the 21/22 season are some of the most significant examples.