Dani Olmo’s Barcelona Future in Jeopardy Amid La Liga Registration Block

Dani Olmo’s registration at Barcelona faces uncertainty due to La Liga’s spending rules.
Barcelona seeks new licenses for Olmo and Pau Victor to navigate registration hurdles.
Spanish media suggests the move could buy time for administrative resolution.

Dani Olmo’s future at Barcelona was thrown into doubt on Tuesday as La Liga rejected the club’s urgent efforts to register the Spanish playmaker amid their ongoing financial struggles.

Under La Liga’s stringent spending rules, Olmo’s registration was initially capped until December 31, 2024, despite his status as Barcelona’s marquee signing last summer. The club’s attempts to extend his eligibility to June 30, 2025, through legal channels have been unsuccessful, leaving them in a race against time to resolve the issue before the midnight deadline in Spain.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that on Tuesday, Barcelona announced that they had sought a new license from the Spanish football federation for both Olmo and forward Pau Victor, who faces a similar registration challenge.

According to Spanish media, this move could provide the club with critical breathing room to finalize the necessary administrative steps.

“The club wishes to deny that it has asked for or received any extension from any other organisation for the registration being requested,” it added in a statement.

La Liga released a statement shortly afterwards saying that as of Tuesday “Barcelona has presented no alternative” complying with the league’s budget rules “that allows it to register any player from January 2”.

Barcelona had submitted documentation to La Liga indicating plans to generate €100 million ($103 million) by selling VIP seats at the future expanded Camp Nou to fund Dani Olmo’s registration. However, progress on the paperwork has been slow, according to Spanish media.

Efforts to extend Olmo’s registration faced setbacks after a Barcelona court rejected the club’s request on Monday, following a similar decision from a commercial court in the city last week.

The financially burdened club managed to temporarily register Olmo by utilizing 80% of injured defender Andreas Christensen’s salary, leveraging a La Liga exception that allows clubs to replace long-term absentees. However, the commercial court clarified that such exceptions are intended to maintain a team’s competitiveness, not to register players whose wages surpass the salary cap.