Barcelona are on the brink of losing Dani Olmo with La Liga determined to prove that the club did not have the salary space to register the Spaniard.
Back in January, Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD) granted Olmo and Pau Víctor temporary registrations to play for Barcelona after the club’s long legal dispute with La Liga. Barcelona used the sale of new VIP seats at the Camp Nou to prove they had the finances required to register the two players for the second half of the season.
The €100 million deal, reportedly finalized on Jan. 3, was enough for the CSD to rule in the club’s favor. Barcelona’s salary cap was raised and therefore they had the green light to register Olmo and Víctor.
Now, three months later, La Liga announced the €100 million were never recorded in Barcelona’s accounts for the 2024–25 season. The auditor Barcelona used for the original deal has been reported to Spain’s Institute of Accounting and Auditing of Accounts (ICAC) and the league is reevaluating the legitimacy of Olmo and Víctor’s registrations.
Dani Olmo of FC Barcelona looks on during the LaLiga match between Getafe CF and FC Barcelona at Coliseum Alfonso Perez on January 18, 2025 in Getafe, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
A new auditor found “Barcelona did not have on Dec. 31, 2024, nor on Jan. 3, 2025, nor since that date the capacity to register Olmo and Víctor.”
La Liga is now fully investigating Barcelona’s finances and will rule on the futures of Olmo and Víctor before Monday, Apr. 7. In the meantime, the league has lowered Barcelona’s salary cap.
Olmo joined Barcelona this summer from RB Leipzig for an initial €55 million fee, but he missed the first two matches of the season because the club could not afford to register him. He was temporarily registered in August after Andreas Christensen suffered a long-term injury.
However, Barcelona had to prove by Dec. 31 that they were compliant with La Liga’s financial regulations to register Olmo (and Víctor) for the second half of the season. The Catalonia club missed the deadline, but appealed to the CSD, using the sale of the VIP seats as proof of their financial backing.
