Racing de Santander reported that the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Mateo Tanlongo, who was ordered to pay one million euros to the club, on April 19, 2024. The court reiterated its decision to punish the Sporting midfielder with the payment of one million euros to the current leader of LaLiga 2 for not “formalizing the signed employment contract”, after receiving an offer from Copenhagen, in the summer of 2023.
Racing recalled, in a statement, that Tanlongo traveled to Santander to sign a contract and even filmed the presentation video on the pitch at the El Sardinero stadium, dressed in the club’s new jersey, with number 23 “which he chose himself”. “Hours later, however, his agent arrived in Santander and while we waited at the club headquarters to finalize the last details, they both disappeared without giving further explanation,” reiterated the Spanish club.
The still Sporting player claimed that he never signed a contract, but both the Santander court and the Cantabria region’s Superior Court of Justice ruled in favor of Racing.
Both instances consider, among other evidence, the messages exchanged between Tanlongo and the club’s technical staff, the emails exchanged between Sporting, Racing and the midfielder’s representatives and the chosen number as proof of the contractual relationship between the two parties.
The Supreme Court’s decision is “final” and “unappealable”. Racing wished the player “the best of luck in the future” and stated that they “only wanted to reiterate the importance of the agreements signed”. Tanlongo was signed by Sporting from Rosario Central in the 2023 winter market, before being loaned to Copenhagen and Rio Ave, in 2023/24, and to Cypriots Pafos, the following season.
