Barcelona have taken La Liga to court in a desperate bid to ensure star midfielder Dani Olmo is allowed to play for the club in 2025.
The former La Masia talent was forced to wait until the third week of the season before he could officially make his senior debut. Olmo came off the bench to score a late winner against Rayo Vallecano and appropriately struck an imaginary clock at the party.
This delay was the result of Barcelona's difficulty in complying Leaguestrict financial regulations. The cash-strapped Catalan giants were able to find salary cap space to sign Olmo following a serious injury to Andreas Christensen. La Liga rules state that 80% of an injured player's salary can be reallocated to a new member of the squad.
Christensen is now back fit and the short-term arrangement will be scrapped after Olmo's six-month interim contract expires on December 31. Barcelona have gone to the courts seeking a “precautionary measure,” asking a judge to allow them to process Olmo's registration in January, according to a report from the Spanish publication. Mark.
This desperate appeal will be heard for the first time at a hearing on Monday 23 December before a decision is expected to be handed down four days later on Friday 27 December.
If this measure is not granted and Barcelona cannot secure more investment before the end of the year deadline, they will have to start Olmo registration process from the beginning. There is also the risk of the player walking away from this mess entirely, as he is believed to have a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave as a free agent if he doesn't sign up to play.
Should Barcelona be granted an extension by the courts, they would theoretically be able to free up more space in the budget by frantically offloading players during the January transfer window.
The club thought they had found a solution to the financial complication regarding Olmo when they agreed a major sponsorship deal with Nike earlier this month. However, the funds from this deal have proved insufficient and Barcelona were blocked from doing the same injury trick after the revenue opened up by Marc-Andre ter Stegen's prolonged absence was used for it. Register Wojciech Szczesny in the middle of the season.
The final throw of the dice for Barcelona is a personal bank guarantee from the board members. This ultimate offer puts their money at risk. According to an assessment by AthleticsBarcelona need around 60 million euros to meet La Liga's salary cap.
When repeatedly asked about this topic Earlier this month, Barcelona sporting director Deco clashed with the assembled reporters but insisted: “We can certainly sign Dani Olmo before the end of the year.”