Barcelona have failed in their latest attempt to register the Spain international Dani Olmo for the second half of the season, but are likely to take their case to Spain’s sports council as they continue to challenge the decision.
On Saturday, La Liga and the Spanish football federation (RFEF) jointly rejected the registrations of Olmo and his teammate Pau Víctor, but the wording of their ruling may open the door for the Catalan club to challenge the rule that prevents them from including the two players in their squad.
Olmo, 26, joined Barcelona from RB Leipzig in August for a reported €60m (£51m). They could only register the attacking player for the initial stage of the campaign, though, because of difficulties meeting La Liga’s wage restrictions.
Olmo was registered to play until 31 December, but the club have failed to secure either his or Víctor’s registration beyond that date. Barcelona lost a second appeal to register them for the remainder of the season on Monday, and Saturday’s verdict represents a further blow to their hopes of keeping both players.
While Olmo and Víctor have in effect been free agents since 1 January, Barcelona could meet the economic requirements to sign them before the transfer market closes in February. According to the RFEF rules, a player cannot be signed by the same club twice in the same season – but Saturday’s reference to a “literal interpretation” of these rules suggests there may be room for manoeuvre.
Olmo has a clause in his contract that allows him to depart unilaterally should the club fail to register him. Barcelona’s plan to raise funds involves selling VIP box seats at the redeveloped Camp Nou stadium, potentially generating over €100m.
A statement published by the RFEF read: “The monitoring committee of the RFEF-La Liga coordination agreement has met to address the request for prior visa and processing of the federation licences of the players Mr Daniel Olmo Carvajal and Mr Pau Víctor Delgado, issued by FC Barcelona.
“After FCB complied with the requirements in terms of economic control of La Liga on 3 January 2025, and once the relevant documentation has been completed by the club, the La Liga budget validation body has decided to extend the cost limit of FC Barcelona’s sports squad from that date.
“In this sense, having requested the licences for the aforementioned players by FC Barcelona and after analysing the applicable regulations, the monitoring committee agrees not to grant the prior visa or the definitive licence requested by FC Barcelona for the players.”
The statement added that the decision was “in accordance with the literal interpretation of articles 130.2 and 141.5 of the RFEF general regulations that prevent a player whose licence is cancelled from being able, in the course of the same season, to obtain a licence at the same club to which he was already linked”.
Barcelona have not responded to the RFEF statement at time of writing, but reports in Spain suggest the club will take the matter to Spain’s national sports council, the Consejo Superior de Deportes. Neither player is in the squad for Barça’s Copa del Rey match at Barbastro on Saturday.
Olmo, a former Barcelona youth player who left for Dinamo Zagreb as a 16-year-old, has scored six goals in 15 appearances for Barça, but faces either a permanent move elsewhere or spending six months on the sidelines if the issue cannot be resolved.