No, not baseless. Barcelona negotiated and paid River Plate for Di Stéfano first in 1953, even featuring him in a friendly. The Spanish FA (RFEF) blocked approval over Millonarios' competing claim, then imposed a foreign-player ban during the dispute. They proposed alternating seasons between clubs; Barcelona rejected it, their president resigned, and they sold their rights to Real Madrid. Political favoritism claims (Franco era) are common but debated—FA intervention is documented across sources like BBC, ESPN, and Wikipedia.