Barcelona are in a race against time to ensure star midfielder Dani Olmo is registered to play for the club in the second half of the season.
The attacking midfielder was signed for £50million from Red Bull Leipzig in the summer but was only able to register on a temporary deal until the end of the calendar year due to LaLiga's current financial constraints on Barcelona.
Barcelona's second attempt to register the winner of Euro 2024 was rejected this Monday by the Court of First Instance 47 of Barcelona.
It means Olmo can leave as a free agent in January if the Spanish football federation continues to block his registration while they push for the Catalan giants to make more cuts, earn more revenue and meet their financial guidelines.
Reports in Spain on Tuesday revealed that the club is working tirelessly to resolve the issue before the 11.59pm deadline on New Year's Eve.
Unfortunately for the European giants, failure to do so before the deadline would make Olmo ineligible to play for the team starting January 1 since, according to point 5 of article 141 of the league regulations, “footballers whose license is canceled they will not be able, during the same season, to obtain a license from the same club team to which they were previously linked.
Dani Olmo could be forced to leave Barcelona in January despite his desire to remain at the Spanish giants.
Hansi Flick's team could see one of its star players leave if the club fails to register him
Olmo's agent, Andy Bara (center right), revealed this Tuesday that his client wants to remain at the club
News of his efforts comes amid a report that Olmo wishes to remain in Catalonia.
His agent Andy Bara, who sparked the rumors last week when he arrived in Manchester, told Fabrizio Romano: “The decision made by Dani is to STAY at Barcelona because he wants to play for Barça.
'We are NOT considering any other options. “Dani wants to play for Barcelona.”
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, the decision could soon be out of his hands, although it is not for a lack of trying by the club, who have reportedly resorted to creative tactics to generate the revenue that would satisfy the league.
According Sports WorldBarcelona has submitted additional documentation regarding the sale of VIP seats at the soon-to-be-completed Spotify Camp Nou for around €100m (£83m).
Furthermore, the media affirms that there is pressure on the League from clubs such as Athletic Bilbao, Atlético de Madrid or Sevilla, with the 'delegate committee and the auditor waiting for the details of all the fine print'.
If Olmo is forced to leave his boyhood club, he will find a long list of Premier League clubs interested in acquiring his services.
The top-flight big six (Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham) would be interested in signing the versatile midfielder next month, reports in Spain claim.
Arsenal were the first of the Premier League's top six clubs to show interest in the attacking midfielder.
Both Manchester clubs have also shown interest in the Spanish star, whose agent was in town last week.
Olmo has scored five goals in 11 LaLiga games for Flick's team, who currently occupy third place in the standings.
In fact, Arsenal are believed to have been the first club to show interest in Olmo, while Chelsea and Spurs have joined the bandwagon more recently.
Unsurprisingly, they are not alone in the race for the winner of Euro 2024 with German giants Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen weighing him in and his former team Leipzig making it clear that he always has a home there.
Over the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain entered the fray as they continue to look for creative reinforcements and Lyon's Rayan Cherki is believed to be another option amid the French club's financial difficulties.
PSG coach Luis Enrique already knows Olmo from the Spanish team and is closely following his situation at Barcelona.
The player himself, however, will remain professional throughout the saga and is committed to fulfilling his contract, which lasts until 2030.
He trained from 10 in the morning on New Year's Eve despite not knowing where the future awaits him, as reported by AS this Tuesday.