CAS Case Digest · Verified against the full award text

CAS 2019/A/6196 — Sport Club Corinthians Paulista v. Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

"Corinthians v. Flamengo (Renato Augusto)" · CAS set aside FIFA DRC's order requiring Corinthians to pay a second solidarity contribution on a sell-on fee already included in the EUR 8,000,000 transfer fee.

What happened in Corinthians v. Flamengo (Renato Augusto)

Renato Augusto was registered as an amateur with Flamengo from age 13 to 20 (2001–2008). He moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2008, then to Corinthians in December 2012 for EUR 3,500,000, with a sell-on clause entitling Leverkusen to 50% of any future transfer fee (minimum EUR 3,000,000). In January 2016, Corinthians sold the player to Beijing Guoan FC for EUR 8,000,000 net: EUR 5,000,000 paid to Corinthians and EUR 3,000,000 paid directly by Beijing to Leverkusen on Corinthians' behalf. Beijing paid Flamengo solidarity contribution on the full EUR 8,000,000. Flamengo then filed a second FIFA DRC claim arguing the sell-on payment to Leverkusen triggered a separate solidarity contribution obligation on Corinthians. FIFA DRC agreed and ordered Corinthians to pay EUR 92,336.84 plus 5% interest. Corinthians appealed to CAS. The Sole Arbitrator set aside the FIFA DRC decision, holding that the EUR 3,000,000 sell-on payment was already embedded in the EUR 8,000,000 total transfer compensation on which solidarity had been paid. Accepting Flamengo's claim would violate the ne bis in idem principle and could push effective solidarity contributions above the 5% cap mandated by FIFA RSTP. The case matters because it clarifies that the solidarity mechanism applies once to the total transfer compensation, not separately to each internal distribution of that compensation among economic-rights holders.

Procedural history of CAS 2019/A/6196

On 24 July 2017, Flamengo filed a second claim before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (case ref. TMS 1700/pam) against Corinthians, seeking solidarity contribution on the EUR 3,000,000 sell-on fee paid to Leverkusen (a first claim, TMS 441/pam, against Beijing for solidarity on the EUR 8,000,000 had already been granted and paid). On 10 August 2018, FIFA DRC accepted Flamengo's claim and ordered Corinthians to pay EUR 92,336.84 plus 5% interest per annum from 18 February 2016, plus CHF 8,000 in procedural costs (CHF 2,000 to Flamengo; CHF 6,000 to FIFA). The decision was communicated to the parties on 18 February 2019. On 8 March 2019, Corinthians filed its Statement of Appeal at CAS under Articles R47 and R48 of the CAS Code, challenging the FIFA DRC decision in full. FIFA was subsequently excluded from the proceedings at its own request, leaving Flamengo as sole respondent. The parties waived a hearing and agreed to proceed on written submissions only.

Key holdings in CAS 2019/A/6196

• The total compensation for the transfer of Renato Augusto to Beijing was EUR 8,000,000, encompassing both the EUR 5,000,000 paid to Corinthians and the EUR 3,000,000 paid directly to Leverkusen on Corinthians' behalf; solidarity contribution was already due and paid on that entire amount.
• The solidarity mechanism under Article 21 and Annexe 5, Article 1 of FIFA RSTP applies to the total compensation negotiated for a player transfer, not to each individual payment made in performance of that compensation among economic-rights holders.
• Accepting a second solidarity contribution on the same sell-on fee would violate the principle of ne bis in idem, as the same triggering event cannot give rise to two separate solidarity obligations.
• Allowing solidarity to be calculated on successive internal distributions of a single transfer fee could push the effective solidarity rate above the 5% maximum established by FIFA RSTP, leading to an absurd and disproportionate result.
• The practical arrangement by which Beijing paid EUR 3,000,000 directly to Leverkusen for convenience does not create a new or separate transfer compensation triggering an additional solidarity contribution.

How the CAS panel reasoned

The Sole Arbitrator began by identifying the two issues: (i) whether the sell-on payment to Leverkusen triggered a fresh solidarity obligation on Corinthians, and (ii) if so, whether the base should be EUR 3,000,000 net or EUR 3,157,894.73 gross. On the first issue, the arbitrator drew a conceptual distinction between 'compensation' (the total value exchanged for registering the player at a new club) and 'payment' (the mechanics of performing that obligation). Annexe 5, Article 1 of FIFA RSTP refers to the 'total amount' of 'any compensation,' which the arbitrator read—consistent with CAS 2011/A/2356 and CAS 2015/A/4137—as the whole price of the transaction, not each downstream distribution. The arbitrator rejected Flamengo's argument that two separate payment obligations existed, reasoning that the EUR 8,000,000 was a single compensation split for practical reasons only. He illustrated the absurdity of Flamengo's position with a hypothetical involving multiple economic-rights holders, showing it could produce solidarity payments exceeding 6.5% of the transfer fee—well above the 5% cap. He therefore held that Flamengo had already received its full entitlement when Beijing paid solidarity on EUR 8,000,000, and that a second claim on the same sell-on fee constituted bis in idem. The second issue (gross-up) was rendered moot.

Why Corinthians v. Flamengo (Renato Augusto) matters in CAS jurisprudence

This award establishes that the FIFA solidarity mechanism is triggered once per transfer, calculated on the total transfer compensation as a single economic event, regardless of how that compensation is distributed among clubs holding economic rights. It prevents training clubs from claiming multiple solidarity contributions by characterising internal distributions of a single transfer fee as separate compensations, and confirms that doing so would breach ne bis in idem and could breach the 5% ceiling set by FIFA RSTP. The award also clarifies that a former club retaining economic rights via a sell-on clause does not transform the payment of that clause into a new, independent transfer compensation.

Cases cited in this award

CAS 2012/A/2929 CAS 2012/A/2944 CAS 2011/A/2356 CAS 2015/A/4137

Frequently asked questions about Corinthians v. Flamengo (Renato Augusto)

Did Flamengo receive any solidarity contribution for Renato Augusto's transfer to Beijing Guoan?

Yes. Beijing paid Flamengo solidarity contribution on the full EUR 8,000,000 transfer fee in connection with the first FIFA DRC claim (TMS 441/pam), and that payment is undisputed in the award. The second claim before CAS concerned only whether an additional contribution was owed on the EUR 3,000,000 sell-on fee paid to Leverkusen.

Why did CAS rule that no second solidarity contribution was owed on the Leverkusen sell-on fee?

The Sole Arbitrator held that the EUR 3,000,000 paid to Leverkusen was already part of the EUR 8,000,000 total transfer compensation on which solidarity had been calculated and paid. Treating the sell-on payment as a separate compensation would violate ne bis in idem and could push the effective solidarity rate above the 5% maximum mandated by Annexe 5, Article 1 of FIFA RSTP.

Does the Corinthians v. Flamengo case mean sell-on fees are excluded from solidarity contribution calculations?

No. The award expressly confirms that conditional fees such as sell-on fees must be included when calculating the total transfer compensation for solidarity purposes. The point decided is that once solidarity has been paid on the total compensation—which already includes the sell-on component—no further solidarity can be claimed on that same sell-on amount by characterising it as a separate transaction.

What was the exact amount FIFA DRC had ordered Corinthians to pay Flamengo, and what happened to it at CAS?

FIFA DRC ordered Corinthians to pay EUR 92,336.84 plus 5% interest per annum from 18 February 2016, together with CHF 8,000 in procedural costs. CAS set aside that decision in full, ordered Flamengo to bear all CAS arbitration costs, and directed Flamengo to pay Corinthians CHF 2,000 as a contribution towards its legal expenses.

Topics: Training compensation & solidarity at CAS

Source: official award. This digest was generated by LexXi from the full award text and machine-verified against it — every figure, article and citation above appears in the source. It is an editorial summary, not legal advice. See how ElevenLex verification works.