BARCELONA are at risk of losing Dani Olmo after losing an appeal to register their star.
Olmo joined from RB Leipzig for £50million in the summer but Barcelona’s financial issues meant he could only be registered on a temporary basis until the end of the calendar year.
And Barca have desperately been trying to extend Olmo’s registration before the December 31 deadline.
The club took the case to court in an attempt to register the winger, but lost the case.
According to Marca, an appeal has been rejected too.
Now Barcelona have to explore other options to secure Olmo’s registration or risk losing him for NOTHING.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Olmo included the clause in his contract that would allow him to leave Camp Nou on a free transfer if the club were unable to register him due to financial restraints.
And the Euro 2024 winner could in theory begin discussions with rival clubs THIS WEEK if the situation is not resolved.
One solution that has been mooted is to sell VIP boxes at the newly renovated Camp Nou for up to 20 years to Middle Eastern investors in a deal worth a reported £82.9million.
That would enable Barcelona to meet financial fair play rules which would then allow them to extend the registration of Olmo and his team-mate Pau Victor.
Most read in Football
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
However, it would stop Barca from negotiating more lucrative deals with other interested parties in the future.
LaLiga approved the registration of Olmo and Victor for the first half of the season only, giving Barca a temporary permit to use the players while they kept looking for fresh revenue streams before January.
Barcelona responded by taking the league to court, claiming a failure to grant the extension would infringe upon the player’s worker rights.
After losing the case and subsequent appeal, club president decided to turn to the VIP boxes deal, which was initially planned to be negotiated in the summer.
Barcelona hope the added revenue will allow them to meet financial regulations and achieve the required 1:1 rule compliance, allowing both Olmo and Victor to remain in the squad.
Olmo’s situation triggered plenty of interest in the Spain international, including from Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk