Barcelona draw up January plan to fix huge issue

Tom Weber

Updated: 3 Dec 2024 15:49 GMT
3 min read

Barcelona will not sign anyone in January in order to be able to register summer signing Dani Olmo for the second half of the season, according to Spanish media.

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The Blaugrana's financial problems are well-documented and even though the new lucrative Nike deal will alleviate the club's issues, it won't immediately solve the entire economic situation.

In the summer, after missing out on top target Nico Williams, Barcelona splashed as much as €62 million on RB Leipzig star Dani Olmo off the back of his stunning Euro 2024 performances.

It was a massive outlay for a club that has had to pinch pennies recently and it unsurprisingly required massive squad manoeuvering to be able to register all the necessary players with LaLiga.

Vitor Roque and Clement Lenglet were sent out on loan, while Mika Faye was sold and Ilkay Gundogan's contract was terminated. Still, it wasn't quite enough and Barcelona used Andreas Christensen's achilles injury to temporarily register Olmo until December 31.

Barcelona won't sign anyone in January

Barcelona made use of Article 77 of LaLiga's rules, which allows them to go over their spending cap by a certain percentage in the event of an injury. The club had used the same strategy earlier in the summer when they registered Inigo Martinez in place of the injured Ronald Araujo.

The problem is that, as mentioned, it is merely a temporary registration and Barcelona will have to find new ways to enlist Olmo again in January. The most likely solution, of course, is to sell players.

This, by extension, means that Barcelona will not be able to bring in any reinforcements in the winter unless they make some actually high-profile, lucrative sales which seems unlikely at this stage.

According to Sport, Barcelona have informed Hansi Flick that no players will be signed and that the focus will instead be on registering players like Olmo and Pau Victor.

Additionally, Barcelona are in advanced negotiations with Pedri over a new contract, which will also require a significant financial outlay, as will the planned new deals for Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong.

Read more about: La Liga, Barcelona, Dani Olmo