Ahead of the start of the 24/25 season, FC Barcelona decided to let go of Ilkay Gundogan—who had joined just a year before—to make way for Dani Olmo by paying a reported £51 million to RB Leipzig. Now, Barcelona technically has neither player and is on the brink of losing well over £200 million because of their horrific financial mismanagement.
Barcelona, upon signing Olmo, could register him for only up to six months, and they had the deadline of 31st January 2024 to re-register him for the second part of the campaign.
Unfortunately, they failed, and despite requests they made to relevant authorities, including the RFEF (Spain’s governing body of football), their appeals remain rejected. As things stand, Olmo is not in the Barcelona squad list anymore, as evidenced by La Liga removing him from their website.
Olmo’s agent told Fabrizio Romano that his client only wishes to play for Barcelona, shutting down rumors of a transfer to the Premier League, but the situation remains precarious—not the start to the new year that Culers would have wanted.
Why Barcelona Will Lose Over £150 Million Because of Dani Olmo
Olmo signed a long-term deal with Barcelona which tied him to the Catalan club until 2030. It was seen as a good deal. Olmo, just 26 years old, had just come off a successful Euros campaign with Spain and was one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga.
The downside, however, which the fanbase never contemplated, was what if Olmo can’t play. Sitting out for six months away from all football until Barcelona can officially make an attempt at registration again didn’t make a lot of sense.
🚨 Dani Olmo arrives at Barcelona’s training ground for today’s session while his registration case is not resolved yet.
📸 @DavidIbanez5 pic.twitter.com/CwOYPgTA0r
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 1, 2025
So, it’s only natural that rumors of Olmo leaving came up. However, that won’t be easy for Barcelona either. The club will still owe him £41 million in wages. That is not to mention the already £51 million that they owe to RB Leipzig.
That’s the direct amount of money they will lose. Potentially, they will also lose out on any amount of money that they could have earned on his transfer—£53 million is his reported market value as per Transfermarkt.
Collectively, this could lead to a loss of over £150 million.
