Barcelona could lose Dani Olmo for the second half of the season after LaLiga said the Catalan club are not in a position to extend the Spain international's registration ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Olmo, 26, joined Barca in the summer and was granted a temporary registration until Dec. 31, giving Barca time to comply with the league's financial fair play rules and prolong his registration until the summer.
However, the deadline is set to pass without Barca offering LaLiga sufficient guarantees that they are now able to fulfil the regulations.
"As of Dec. 31, Barcelona have not presented any alternative, in accordance with LaLiga's economic rules, that allow the registration of players from Jan.2," the league said in a statement.
Barca released their own statement saying they had now asked the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] to grant them new licences for Olmo and striker Pau Victor, who is also in the same position.
However, with Olmo and Victor's current registrations due to expire on Dec. 31, RFEF rules state that players cannot be re-registered with the same team for the second time in the same season.
A source told ESPN that Barca will offer a deeper explanation on their request to the RFEF and attempt to clear up the situation on Jan. 3.
Until then, the immediate futures for Olmo and Victor remain uncertain, if not in major doubt, after a source with the RFEF told ESPN: "We cannot process any licence without prior approval from LaLiga."
There is a clause in Olmo's contract which would allow him to leave for free if he is not registered for the second half of the campaign, although sources have always told ESPN neither the club nor the player are contemplating that possibility.
Despite that, there have been reports that several English and German teams are monitoring Olmo's situation with a view to making a January move should he become available.
Olmo's agent, Andy Bara, reiterated on Tuesday that the forward is only focused on Barca, though.
Barcelona are set to miss the deadline to register Dani Olmo for the remainder of the 2024-25 LaLiga campaign.
"The decision made by Dani is to stay at Barcelona as he wants play for Barca," Bara told reporters. "We are not considering any other option. Dani wants to play for Barcelona."
Barca had pursued various options to force through Olmo's and Victor's registrations as the clock ticked in recent weeks.
They lost two court hearings against the interpretation of LaLiga's rules, a route which had previously yielded success when they promoted Gavi to the first team in 2023.
The club then moved ahead with a plan to sell VIP boxes and seating at Spotify Camp Nou, which is currently being renovated, when it reopens.
Sources told ESPN a deal worth around €100 million had been agreed, which would have allowed them to register Olmo and Victor while complying with the league's financial rules.
The paperwork was sent to LaLiga, sources added, but the league's statement on Tuesday suggests there was either a problem with the documentation, the proof of payment or that the deal simply was not accepted.
Olmo joined from RB Leipzig for around €60m in the summer, but he missed the first two games of the season unregistered before Barca took advantage of a rule which allowed them to temporarily use up to 80% of the salary due to an injured player on an alternative.
An Achilles injury to Andreas Christensen had provided sufficient room within the club's LaLiga-imposed spending cap to register Olmo, but only on a temporary basis.
All Spanish clubs are subject to an annual limit set by the league, which is roughly determined by the difference between a team's revenue minus non-sporting outgoings and debt repayments.
Barca's has risen to €426m for the current campaign, but they remain in excess of that amount, which means they still must comply with certain restrictions when registering new additions.
Olmo, who came through Barca's academy before leaving as a 16-year-old, has scored six goals in 15 appearances this season.
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