Barcelona are racing against time to free up space within their spending cap to extend Dani Olmo’s La Liga registration before it expires on December 31, multiple sources have told ESPN.
Olmo signed from RB Leipzig in the summer, but missed Barca’s first two games of the season as his La Liga registration was not processed due to the club’s ongoing financial problems.
He was finally granted provisional registration until the end of the year to compensate for the long-term injury suffered by Andreas Christensen.
If Barça fails to free up enough space within the 426 million euros ($447.5 million) salary cap imposed by LaLiga before January, the Spain international will be forced to join the club for the second half of the season. Running is not allowed.
The same situation applies to striker Pau VÃctor, who was signed from Girona this summer.
Mundo Deportivo reports that a clause in Olmo’s contract allows him to leave for free in such a case.
A source who spoke to ESPN said the story was accurate, but another source at Barça said he could not speak about “confidential” contract details.
The clause has become increasingly common in player deals for Catalan clubs, with ESPN first revealing its existence with the arrival of Christensen and Franck Kessié in 2022.
Barça remains over the limit but could use part of the money saved or raised to register players.
Club sources remain optimistic that will be the case for Olmo and Victor.
The club recently announced a new deal with kit supplier Nike to boost revenue. However, the agreement must first be approved by club members and a vote is scheduled for December 21.
According to various media reports, the club is also working on a deal to sell the rights to VIP boxes at the remodeled Spotify Camp Nou for the next 20 years.
The source said the club is trying to find other sources of investment, adding that the “last option” would be for one of the club’s board members to provide a personal guarantee to enable the registration of Olmo and Victor.
