Dani Olmo has appeared to have taken uncertainty over his Barcelona future in his stride as the Spanish international shared a cheeky message to mark the start of the New Year.
Olmo only joined Barcelona from RB Leipzig in the summer in a £50m deal but could only be registered on a temporary arrangement until the end of 2024 owing to LaLiga‘s ongoing financial constraints on Barcelona.
The Catalan giants had been trying to re-register the attacking midfielder so that he can play for them beyond December 31, while they had also been looking to extend his team-mate Pau Victor’s registration.
LaLiga issued a statement on Tuesday evening, confirming they have turned down Barcelona’s proposal to register Olmo, leaving the star’s future uncertain.
LaLiga wrote: ‘FC Barcelona has not presented any alternative that, in compliance with LaLiga’s economic control regulations, would allow it to register any player after 2 January.’
Olmo, who has been linked with a possible move to the Premier League, appeared to give an indication to where he views his future when sharing photos of his New Year’s Eve celebrations on social media.
Dani Olmo, pictured with his girlfriend Laura Abla Schmitt, celebrated the start of the New Year
Barcelona have been unable to register the midfielder for the second half of the season
Olmo appeared to make a reference to his future, with blaugrana coloured emojis on his post
The 26-year-old shared photos with the caption ‘It’s 2025 time’, with the message ending with blue and heart emojis, an apparent reference to Barcelona’s blaugrana colours.
Olmo was seen posing alongside his influencer girlfriend Laura Abla Schmitt and friends in the photos to welcome in 2025.
The post appeared to made by comments from Olmo’s agent Andy Bara around the star’s future.
Bara, who sparked rumours last week when he arrived in Manchester, told Fabrizio Romano: ‘The decision made by Dani is to STAY at Barcelona as he wants play for Barca.
‘We are NOT considering any other option. Dani wants to play for Barcelona.’
As it stands, Olmo is not set to be registered for Barcelona’s first match of the New Year on January 4 against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey.
Having been rebuffed, Olmo is ineligible per point 5 of article 141 of the league’s rules, ‘footballers whose licence is cancelled will not be able, during the course of the same season, to obtain a licence from the same team of the club to which they were previously linked.’
It means Olmo can leave as a free agent in January if Spain’s football federation continue to block his registration as they push for the Catalan giants to make more cuts, find more revenue and comply with their financial guidelines.
Olmo’s agent Andy Bara (middle right) revealed on Tuesday that his client wants to remain with the club
Olmo appears to be relaxed over his future despite Barcelona’s struggles to register him
The Euro 2024 winner shared photos marking the start of the New Year with friends
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona has sent additional documentation regarding the sale of VIP seats at the soon-to-be completed Spotify Camp Nou for around €100m (£83m).
Additionally, the outlet claim that there is pressure on the league from clubs such as Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, with the ‘delegate committee and the auditor awaiting the details of all the small print’.
Barcelona released their own statement on Tuesday, revealing they have applied for a new licence from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to register Olmo and Victor.
The statement read: ‘FC Barcelona informs that it has requested a new licence from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for the players Daniel Olmo and Pau Víctor.
‘Likewise, the Club wishes to deny that it has requested or received any moratorium from any other body for the registration requested.’
According to Mundo Deportivo, RFEF sources have claimed the federation cannot process any licence without the approval of LaLiga in another potential blow to Barcelona.
But the Spanish club still believe they will be able to reach an agreement to keep Olmo.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is desperately trying to keep Olmo amid interest from Premier League clubs
Ruben Amorim’s Man United and Pep Guardiola’s City are two clubs showing interest in Olmo
With Olmo’s future far from certain, several Premier League clubs are circling.
As well as United and City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are all believed to be monitoring his situation closely, according to reports in Spain.
Indeed, Arsenal are understood to have been the first club to show interest in Olmo, while Chelsea and Spurs have joined the bandwagon more recently.
The Euro 2024 winner has reportedly also been targeted by German giants Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen weighing him up and his former side Leipzig making it clear that he always has a home there.