FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta has managed to secure a $104 million (€100 million) cash … [+]
FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta has managed to secure a $104 million (€100 million) cash injection that will allow the club to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor according to MARCA, which cited anonymous sources.
The Spanish forwards were the only two first team signings made for Hansi Flick’s squad ahead of the 2024/2025 season.
While Pau Victor was picked up for $2.6 million (€2.5 million) from Girona after impressing on loan for Barca Atletic, Olmo returned home from a club he left as a 16 year old in La Masia as part of a deal with RB Leipzig that could be worth up to $63 million (€60 million) one day.
Olmo had to wait until Matchday 3 to make his debut, when he came off the bench to turn the game round and secure a comeback win at Ray Vallecano.
That’s because there was a Financial Fair Play (FFP) related issue that initially scuppered his registration, and it was only when Barca realized it could exploit a loophole opened up by injuries to defenders Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen that Pau Victor and Olmo got the green light to play.
This was only a temporary measure until December 31, however, a date which has soon crept up on the Catalans.
A new Nike deal already announced by the club and ratified by its members wasn’t enough to put the topic to bed, and things appeared to be heading south when Friday saw a Barcelona judge deny a request for Olmo and Victor to be registered for the rest of the season.
It was reported that Barca would appeal to the Court of First Instance to try and gain a positive resolution, but that won’t be necessary now according to MARCA.
This is because Laporta has managed to sell VIP box access to the Spotfy Camp Nou – which is currently being renovated – for $104 million (€100 million), which means that Barca won’t only be able to register Olmo and Pau Victor but also finally return to the 1:1 rule under FFP.
Barca is currently waiting to receive payment for the VIP boxes deal, but it will no doubt publish something on the matter when that has been completed.