According to Mundo Deportivo, the decision to pull the announcement was made because the club is still waiting to exchange the final pieces of documentation with Al-Hilal. While the agreement is in place and the player is physically present in Barcelona, the formal bureaucratic process involving the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and the final sign-off from the Saudi Pro League side had not been fully completed when the publish button was hit.
Sources from within the Catalan club have moved quickly to quell fears, assuring that the operation is sealed and that it is "only a matter of time" before the paperwork arrives to formalise the transfer. The media team, perhaps eager to share the good news with a fanbase desperate for reinforcements, appears to have acted slightly ahead of the legal department.
The strict protocols regarding international transfers require that all documentation be perfectly aligned between the two associations - the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) - before a player can be officially registered. Until that final electronic handshake occurs in the Transfer Matching System (TMS), the player is technically not yet a Barcelona employee again, prompting the club to retract the announcement to ensure full compliance with regulations.
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