Barcelona beware! Gavi could still leave for free

Robin Bairner

• 31 Jan 2023 10:10 CST
• 3 min read

Barcelona claimed an important victory on Tuesday as they won a court battle to have Gavi’s contract ratified – but they have been warned that the Spain international midfielder could still leave them for nothing this summer.

The Catalans celebrated as a judge declared that La Liga were wrong for blocking Gavi’s contract extension, which meant that he could not be registered as a first-team player. La Liga had thwarted Barca on Financial Fair Play (FFP) grounds, but the judicial decision overruled this.

Gavi, meanwhile, had signed a contract with Barcelona in September that gave him a €1 billion release clause, which would come into force when registered with the senior team.

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La Liga, though, had effectively been blocking this contract from being recognised.

“It’s good news if the court is on our side. It’s good news for us and it’s good news for Gavi too,” Xavi said.

La Liga, though, have not received notice of the decision and will appeal the decision.

MORE: Xavi explains why Barca star Gavi plays with his laces undone

Barcelona not clear yet

According to Marca, there could still be a sting in the tail for Barca.

“The registration will be pending if La Liga presents an appeal to this resolution of the judge and wins it,” the Spanish paper states. “Then the registration would be cancelled and the midfielder would return to his current status. That is to say, he would be considered a ‘B’ team player again.”

This has potentially profound implications for Barcelona, who have to register him before the close of the transfer window.

If they cannot do so, his release clause would drop from €1 billion to nothing – meaning that Gavi would be free to join any team he wishes.

Of course, the indications are that Gavi would remain with Barcelona in any case, having shunned interest from the Premier League when it arrived last summer.

Xavi agrees.

“The priority is that big players like him are insured,” he said. “It seems that now we can register him. I don’t see him changing club. He’s very content and happy here. I don’t see him walking.”

So Gavi’s contract remains a concern for Barcelona, but perhaps not a big one.