Barcelona plans to appeal to the Spanish government in a last-ditch attempt to re-register Dani Olmo after La Liga and the national football association officially rejected the club’s application.
Olmo unknowingly finds himself in an unprecedented legal battle. After joining Barcelona in the summer for a transfer fee of around €60m (£50m), the Spain international had to wait until the third week of the season for the club to find space within their tight budget for a signing. However, this was only a temporary measure that expired on December 31st.
Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) regulations prohibit any player from obtaining a second registration to play for the same club in a single season. Barcelona twice turned to the city’s commercial courts to argue against La Liga’s ability to enforce those rules, but were quickly rebuffed in both cases.
A joint statement from La Liga and RFEF officially confirmed the rejection of Barcelona’s latest request to re-register the two players on Saturday, just hours before Hansi Flick’s side began their Copa del Rey campaign against fifth division club Barbastro.
Club president Joan Laporta said he had secured the necessary funds for Olmo’s registration – and that of young striker Pau Victor, who finds himself in the same perilous position – but no outside party could provide the proceeds from unnamed Middle Eastern investors Guarantee deadline expiry on December 31. Barcelona belatedly confirmed the VIP seat contract on Friday January 3, with the approval of La Liga – although this does not change the fact that Olmo’s registration has expired is.
According to multiple reports, Barcelona are now going beyond La Liga and RFEF and appealing to the Higher Sports Council (CSD), the sports arm of the Spanish government.
The athlete claim that Barcelona will seek at least temporary approval to register Olmo and Victor to avoid the potential harm that could be caused to the two players while waiting for a final decision.
Spanish publication SPORT announced that the hearing would take place on Tuesday, January 7 and that the club remained defiantly “optimistic” about the situation. This positive attitude could even lead to Barcelona including Olmo and Victor in the squad that travels to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup next week in the hope that a solution can be found before Wednesday’s semi-final against Athletic Club.