BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Barcelona will need to have another financial lever approved by the Spanish league in order to register playmaker Dani Olmo for the rest of the season after a judge ruled against the club on Monday.

It was the second consecutive court setback against Barcelona as it tries to register the player before the end-of-the-year deadline.
Without the court´s backing, Olmo’s contract can’t be registered beyond the end of 2024 unless Barcelona convinces the league that it will be able to make up enough salary cap room to register him in the squad. Olmo moved from Leipzig to Barcelona in August.

Spanish media reported that Barcelona is set to get approval from the league in time after it reached a deal to sell VIP seats at the renovated Camp Nou stadium for 100 million euros ($104 million). That would reportedly be enough to allow Barcelona to add Olmo and forward Pau Víctor to the squad.

Each Spanish league club has a salary cap which is calculated based on a series of factors that include revenues, costs and debts. It is proportional to roughly 70% of a club´s revenues.

Barcelona has endured difficulties registering some players recently because of its financial struggles. It has resorted to a series of financial levers in recent years, including the sale of future television rights. The club’s financial struggles led to the departure of Lionel Messi in 2021.