Barcelona sporting director Deco has said the club will be able to prolong Dani Olmo‘s registration as they race to do so before a Dec. 31 deadline.
Olmo joined Barça from RB Leipzig in the summer but was only registered with LaLiga on a temporary basis until the end of the calendar year due to the club’s financial problems, missing the first two games of the season as a result.
The registration was granted to cover the long-term injury suffered by Andreas Christensen.
“Yes, of course,” Deco told Movistar when asked if Barça will be able to register Olmo properly before the end of the year. “We’re working on it and everyone is calm.”
Barça, like all LaLiga teams, are subject to an annual spending limit by the Spanish league. The Catalan club’s has been fixed at €426 million ($447.5m) for the ongoing season.
To be able to register Dani Olmo — and striker Pau Víctor, who is in the same position — Barça must first make savings or increase revenue.
“These are internal issues at the club,” a slightly irritated Deco added when asked how Barça will be able to process the registration.
“Don’t worry, we’ll fix it. The player is calm, don’t worry.”
If Barça don’t extend Olmo’s registration before Dec. 31, they would not be allowed to re-register him for a second time this season. In that scenario, Mundo Deportivo reported this week the Spain international would be free to leave the club, per a clause in his contract.
Sources close to the club and player told ESPN neither party is contemplating that as an eventual outcome, while LaLiga president Javier Tebas said he also expects Barça to find a solution.
“I hope Barça manage it,” Tebas said at an event on Thursday. “I am positive they will. They are working on it and I am optimistic.
“At the end of the day, they always manage it, so let’s see. [Olmo] is a player I like a lot. He’s an extraordinary player.”
Barça remain in excess of their €426m cap, but can spend a percentage of anything they save or raise on registering players. The club are working on various fronts to be able to register Olmo and Victor.
They recently announced a new deal with kit supplier Nike that will give them a revenue boost. The agreement must first be approved by the club’s members, though, with a vote planned for Dec. 21.
Various media reports suggest the club are also working on a deal to sell rights to the VIP boxes at Spotify Camp Nou, which is being renovated, for the next 20 years.
Sources added the club are working on other sources of investment, adding the “last option” would be for one of the club’s board members to put up a personal guarantee to enable Olmo and Victor’s registrations.