The attempt by FC Barcelona to prolong the registration of Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo has been seriously hampered as a Spanish court has denied their appeal. Olmo, who was momentarily registered earlier this season, will be off-limits to play after December 31 unless the team finds a solution before then. La Liga’s rigorous financial policies have resulted in a denial of registration, which forces Barcelona to search for answers to prevent losing Olmo midway through the campaign.
From RB Leipzig, Barcelona signed Dani Olmo for €57 million during the summer transfer season. Olmo was only recruited to cover for the Danish defense as Andreas Christensen suffered long-term injuries. This set-up let him play for the team despite financial difficulties and limits on new player registration. But this interim registration expires December 31, hence Barcelona has little time to handle the matter.
The financial restrictions of La Liga
Olmo’s extended registration was rejected mostly due to La Liga’s financial fair play rules. Barcelona this season has had a major challenge from the league’s financial policies, which are enforced by its Budget Validation Body. Barcelona has struggled to keep under the €426 million spending budget imposed by the club for the current campaign because of significant expenditures on player salaries and transfers.
For the club, these financial problems are not novel. Barcelona had a similar issue with Gavi’s first-team player registration in 2023; today Olmo finds himself in a similar situation. La Liga maintained its position—that Barcelona did not satisfy the requirements for extending Olmo’s registration—along with the Spanish Football Federation and UEFA Licensing Committee.
Efforts of Barcelona Towards a Solution
Barcelona is aggressively looking for strategies to retain Olmo qualified to participate in the next year notwithstanding the court decision. The club offers two possible fixes for the registering problem:
One way Barcelona may create extra money is by preselling VIP tickets at the under-renovation Spotify Camp Nou. This would enable the club to reinvest in player registrations and aid to strengthen its finances.
Another approach is having a board member offer a financial guarantee; this approach has been effectively applied in the past to register players such as Jules Koundé and João Cancelo. This strategy might be able to address the problem by giving the required financial support to follow La Liga’s rules.
Effects on Barcelona’s Season
Barcelona’s financial problems as well as the continuous problems with player registration put the team in a challenging situation. Should Olmo miss play after December 31, Barcelona would lose one of its primary players for the rest of the season, therefore affecting the team’s aspirations in La Liga and European tournaments.
Apart from Olmo, another player impacted by La Liga’s budget constraints is forward recruited from Girona Pau Víctor. Like Olmo, Víctor struggles with registration as the team fails to satisfy financial compliance criteria set by La Liga.
A Race Against Time
Barcelona has to figure out their financial problems and guarantee Olmo stays qualified to play for the squad as the clock runs down until the January deadline. The circumstances mirror Barcelona’s larger difficulties juggling their financial stability with the demands of contending at the top level of European football. Barcelona’s board and management will have to move fast to identify a solution before the January window opens as the future of the club is on line.
