The €60m (£50m) summer recruit from RB Leipzig has been at the epicentre of a public dispute between Barcelona and Spain’s top flight. La Liga’s strict financial regulations forced the Catalan giants to find a new source of income before they could register Olmo for the second half of the season.
Club president Joan Laporta appeared to have secured the necessary funds by selling the rights to Camp Nou’s VIP boxes for the next 20 years in a deal worth €120m, but the money behind that face-saving arrangement could not be guaranteed before the deadline of 31 December.
Barcelona’s appeals for an extension were rebuffed not once but twice and Olmo was removed from La Liga’s website. The worst case scenario is that he exerices his right to leave as a free agent, with Barcelona still obliged to pay him the full value of his contract and the outstanding transfer fee owed to Leipzig.
But Olmo has remained outwardly unfazed by the challenging situation. The first player out on the pitch for Barcelona’s public training session after the winter break, the Euro 2024 winner stopped to dish out autographs for fans. Offering a warm smile, Olmo claimed that “everything’s fine” in a brief interaction with supporters which was filmed.
The player’s agent has also stressed his client’s desire to stay at Barcelona. A product of the club’s famed academy, Olmo celebrated the new year by signing off a social media post with two heart emojis in Barcelona’s club colours.
Despite this public stance, a host of Premier League clubs are reportedly interested in the forward, who could soon became a free agent after the expiration of his registration. Olmo obtains a clause in his contract that would allow him to terminate his legal ties to Barcelona, who cannot solve this complex solution by loaning him out for the final six months of the campaign.
The Athletic claim that Barcelona remain confident that a resolution can be found – despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Mundo Deportivo name Friday 3 January as a new deadline for another last-ditch effort to force through Olmo, as this is the date when all the money from the VIP seating deal is expected to come through.