OFFICIAL: LaLiga reject Barcelona's Dani Olmo registration appeal

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 Jan 2025 13:01 CST
4 min read

LaLiga and the Spanish federation, the RFEF, have officially rejected Barcelona's request to register Dani Olmo.

One of Spanish football's biggest sagas of recent years will continue via a legal route. Barcelona will seek recourse to legal action after LaLiga and the RFEF have jointly decided to deny the club's appeal to register Olmo.

Article continues under the video

This is despite the fact that Barcelona have, in recent days, secured the necessary funding to fit Olmo and young striker Pau Victor within their spending limits.

However, it came too late as an initial deadline had been set for December 31 and Barcelona were unable to meet this date. The club argued 'force majeure,' in other words that it was beyond their control, but this claim has now been rejected by the league and the federation.

Due to Barcelona missing the December deadline, the playing licenses of Olmo and Victor automatically expired. However, LaLiga players are only permitted to have one license per club over the course of a season, so the two governing bodies have ruled in accordance with the regulations in rejecting the club's appeal.

Barcelona will not give up on this case - because it could potentially cost them well in excess of €100 million - and will now seek to take legal action.

On Friday evening, president Joan Laporta accidentally leaked a message in which he appeared to argue that the RFEF was actually on Barcelona's side in all of this, so the club still feel they have grounds to challenge this latest ruling.

Olmo could terminate his current deal due to a contract clause and sign for a new club, but so far, the player and his agent have insisted that they intend to remain in Catalunya. However, if he truly can't play for the rest of the season, he might have to change his mind.

Official statement

"The Monitoring Committee of the LALIGA-RFEF Coordination Agreement has met to address the request for a prior visa and processing of the federation licenses of the players Mr. Daniel Olmo Carvajal and Mr. Pau Víctor Delgado, issued by FC Barcelona," an official statement read.

"Following compliance by FCB with the requirements regarding LALIGA's financial control on 3 January 2025 and the Club completing the relevant documentation, LALIGA's Budget Validation Body has decided to extend the FCB Sports Squad Cost Limit from the aforementioned date.

"In this regard, having been requested the licenses for the aforementioned players by FC Barcelona, after analysis of the applicable federation regulations, the Monitoring Committee agrees not to grant the prior visa, nor the definitive license requested by FC Barcelona for the players Mr. Daniel Olmo Carvajal and Mr. Pau Víctor Delgado in accordance with the literal interpretation of articles 130.2 and 141.5 of the General Regulations of the RFEF that prevent a player whose license is cancelled, from being able to obtain a license in the same club team to which he was already linked, during the course of the same season."