Barcelona in Crisis: €55M Signing’s Registration Rejected, Spanish Media Warn of Potential "Biggest Joke"

Barcelona’s ongoing financial struggles have once again taken center stage, this time over the registration of Dani Olmo. On December 27, four major Spanish sports outlets simultaneously reported that a Barcelona court had rejected the club’s request to register Olmo. This decision could have dire consequences: if Olmo is not registered by December 31, he will be free to leave the club as a free agent.

A High-Stakes Situation

Barcelona signed Olmo this past summer for a transfer fee of €55 million from RB Leipzig. However, due to the club’s financial difficulties and the constraints imposed by La Liga’s salary cap, they were unable to immediately register him. The injury to Andreas Christensen, which ruled him out for four months, temporarily freed up enough salary space to register Olmo for the first half of the season. That registration expires on January 1, 2024.

Since joining Barcelona, Olmo has delivered respectable performances. In La Liga, he has scored five goals in 11 appearances, while contributing a goal and an assist in four Champions League matches. However, Barcelona must now find a solution to ensure Olmo’s registration for the second half of the 2024-25 season.

The Court’s Decision

Barcelona had hoped to use the salary space created by Marc-André ter Stegen’s long-term injury—worth approximately €14 million—to register Olmo. However, La Liga has ruled that the club does not meet the criteria for its "1-to-1 policy," which allows clubs to use all freed-up income for new expenditures. Barcelona has already used ter Stegen’s salary space to register Wojciech Szczęsny, leaving no room for Olmo.

If the situation is not resolved within the next four days, Olmo’s contract stipulates that he will become a free agent on January 1. This would allow him to leave Barcelona and sign with any club without a transfer fee. According to AS, such an outcome would represent one of the most embarrassing episodes in Barcelona’s history, with the potential to become a "biggest joke" in football circles.

Possible Solutions

Barcelona faces a race against time to resolve the issue. AS outlines two potential solutions:

1. Pre-Sale of VIP Boxes at Camp Nou
   Barcelona is in the process of renovating Camp Nou, and the pre-sale of VIP boxes for the next 20 years could generate between €100 million and €200 million in revenue. However, this initiative is still incomplete, and any revenue generated would require review and approval by La Liga. Expecting €100 million to materialize within four days is highly unrealistic.

2. Personal Guarantees
   This option involves a personal financial guarantee, a strategy Barcelona president Joan Laporta has used before. In the summer of 2022, Laporta secured €11 million as a guarantee to register Jules Koundé, who had initially missed the first two rounds of La Liga due to registration issues. The guarantee was refunded six months later.

If no alternative emerges, this may be Barcelona’s only viable option to secure Olmo’s registration.

A Looming Disaster

The stakes could not be higher for Barcelona. Losing a €55 million signing like Dani Olmo—especially for free—would be a monumental failure, both financially and reputationally. With only four days left, the club must act swiftly to avoid what Spanish media have warned could be one of the most humiliating moments in its history.