Olmo’s Barcelona registration battle puts Laporta under pressure

Dani Olmo’s future at Barcelona remains in the balance as the Catalan club pursue their legal battle to get the midfielder registered to play once more.

The Spanish league leaders’ failure to meet La Liga’s budgetary rules to license both Olmo and forward Pau Victor before the end of last year currently leaves them ineligible to play for the rest of the season.

Olmo, a key figure as Spain won Euro 2024, is an important attacking weapon in Barcelona’s bid for silverware this season.

The club will take their case to Spain’s top sports court (CSD) in a bid to solve the situation, with club president Joan Laporta under fire from various opposition groups because of the debacle.

– How did we get here? –
Olmo and Victor were registered on a short-term basis after arriving last summer, as debt-ridden Barcelona took advantage of a financial loophole following an injury to defender Andreas Christensen.

After Barca lost two court cases aiming to secure new licenses for the duo last week, they sold VIP boxes for their new Spotify Camp Nou stadium, still under construction, for a reported 100 million euros ($104 million) to be able to operate within La Liga’s financial fair play (FFP) scheme.

However the deal was finalised and paperwork sent three days too late to beat the league’s deadline.

La Liga confirmed Barcelona have now met the financial requirements but Olmo and Victor’s licenses had expired, and regulations prevent players “obtaining a license at the same club to which they were already linked” in the course of one season.

Barcelona will argue that the rule is obsolete, according to Spanish media, and that as they now have the funds while the transfer window is open, they should be allowed to register the duo.

If the CSD do not