The Barcelona midfielder was left in limbo as the exit date approached after the Spanish court refused to register the player.
A Spanish court has rejected Barcelona’s request to register Dani Olmo after the end of the year, which could push the star closer to leaving the Catalan giants on a free.
The Spanish playmaker, who has scored six goals in 15 appearances for the Bernabeu-based club this season, signed from German club RB Leipzig last summer for $62.5 million, but La Liga rules restricting spending on wages and transfers complicated his registration process.
Barcelona, which is drowning in debt, has signed a contract with the 26-year-old player until December 31, along with 80 percent of the wages of injured defender Andreas Christensen, thanks to an exception that allows clubs to compensate for those absent for long periods.
After the Spanish League rejected the club’s request to extend its registration until the end of the season, Barcelona took the case to court claiming unfair competition and seeks to register Olmo until June 30, 2025.
A commercial court in Barcelona said in a ruling issued on Monday that it rejected the club’s applications because none of the criteria were met.
“The goal of allowing excess spending is so that a long-term injury does not undermine the team’s competitiveness, and not so that a long-term injury allows the registration of players who exceed the limit with their salaries,” which is what Barcelona tried to do. The court ruled.
The court added that Olmo cannot be registered for the rest of the season “once it is understood that the player’s contract expires on December 31, 2024 and cannot be extended.”
Spanish media said Olmo’s contract, which was initially set to run until 2030, includes a clause that would see the 2024 European Championship champion released if he is unable to score.
Barcelona can appeal the ruling, and Spanish media reported that the club could resort to alternative means to secure the registration of the Spanish international, who scored 11 goals in 41 matches with his country’s national team.
This includes further legal action, board members offering personal assets to secure registration and selling VIP seat packages for the future expanded Camp Nou stadium to generate exceptional income, they said.
La Liga said it applied the requirements equally to all teams, and welcomed the absence of any exception that could “seriously alter the equality of circumstances” in the competition.
Olmo’s potential departure would be a huge blow to the Blaugrana, who squandered an early lead and dropped to third in a tight title race.
Hansi Flick’s side are three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and two behind Real Madrid, having played one more game than both rivals.
