Gavi could leave Barcelona for free after court ruling

Robin Bairner

• 13 Mar 2023 09:48 CDT
• 3 min read

Barcelona have suffered an embarrassing setback with Gavi’s first-team registration, with the courts ruling that the youngster’s listing be cancelled, potentially meaning the teenager could leave on a free transfer in the summer.

Barca have been embroiled in a succession of courtroom sagas to start 2023, with the La Liga leaders being investigated for corruption.

MORE: Why does Gavi have two different Barcelona shirt numbers?

This case is an entirely separate one and is being fought out between the club and La Liga, who prevented Barca from registering Gavi as a first-team player due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.

The Catalan side appeared to have won the case when the courts ruled in their favour in February, but that was overruled on Monday.

MORE: Why are La Liga blocking Gavi's registration?

Will Gavi still be able to play for Barcelona?

Gavi will still be able to play for Barcelona in La Liga, but he will be doing so under the terms of the contract he was under at the beginning of the season and not the one he signed in September, which would come into force when registered with the senior team.

Barca thought they had done that successfully in February when they won a court battle to have his contract ratified, but Revelo reports that the Camp Nou side filed their complaint one day after the deadline and was, therefore, invalid.

Although he is once again technically a youth player, he still has the necessary documents to play for the first team, so there is no immediate problem, although the €1 billion release clause in his contract is not valid.

Furthermore, he will revert back to the No.30 jersey he was wearing at the start of the season, leaving the No.10 shirt behind.

Most seriously, Gavi is, theoretically at least, out of contract at the end of the season once more after his latest deal was scrubbed by the courts.

In a statement released when they won the initial court ruling Barcelona wanted that the player’s free agency could “cause serious, irreparable damage to Barca”.

While he may technically be available on a free transfer, there will be no significant danger of Barcelona losing the youngster, whose wage will be around €8 million per year. There could, however, be a complication in registering him once again given that La Liga have instructed Barca to make €200m of cuts in the summer.

This is another off-field headache that Barcelona could simply do without as Xavi’s side continue to impress on the park.