Barcelona's protracted tussle with the registration of Dani Olmo has been dealt another huge blow, with the club now having no other option but to make another drastic measure to make him ready for the season.
The departure of Ilkay Gundogan, who returned to Manchester City on a free transfer a year after joining Barcelona, was supposed to create the necessary financial breathing room to register Dani Olmo and, quite possibly, other new signings. His exit seemed a priori like an unavoidable yet unexpected solution, considering that his large salary (in excess of €18 million annually before tax) would no longer be reflected in the books at Barcelona. This saving from his exit was to be sufficient to register Olmo, who reportedly earns significantly less.
The latest reports, however, by Pedro Morata for COPE, indicate that Gundogan's exit still did not provide enough financial fair play space to register Dani Olmo. It might be that Barcelona needs to make one more sale or finish the long-anticipated Nike sponsorship renewal if it is to create the room required under the FFP rules.
Another Blow for Barcelona Fans
The news comes as another blow to Barcelona fans who, after accepting the departure of Gundogan, also did so with the faith that the club was going to try to register Dani Olmo as fast as possible. And a fast registration it is not. According to Morata, Barcelona has not returned to 1:1 financial fair play status, which allows a club to spend €1 for every €1 it earns. By doing so, while Barcelona is now locked into the much tighter 1:4 situation, that says for every €1 they spend they are only allowed to bring in €4.
The 1:4 financial restriction aims at ensuring that clubs deeply in debt do not spend beyond their means unless they can raise the revenue to cover such debts. Though the specifics of how exactly this is effected do vary from club to club, or perhaps region to region, within Spain, it's pretty clear that Barcelona's case remains very precarious.
What's Next for Barcelona?
This leaves Barcelona president Joan Laporta in a bit of a pickle with mere nine days left on the market. The Catalan need to buckle up and rotate another financial lever, be it a new sponsorship deal, the sale of a further player, or any other type of solution, to be able to officially register Dani Olmo.
For now, Barcelona fans will have to wait anxiously to see if the club can overcome this latest hurdle and finally bring Olmo into the fold. The clock is ticking, and every move will be crucial as the transfer window draws to a close.
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