Olmo set for Barca debut after finally being registered

Barcelona have finally registered forward Dani Olmo, leaving the Spaniard free to make his debut against Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old signed for Barcelona, who he played for at youth level, on 9 August but missed the club’s first two La Liga games.

Olmo was unable to be registered because Barcelona did not have the spare funds within the Spanish top-flight’s strict financial rules.

Barcelona released midfielder Ilkay Gundogan back to Manchester City last week and have also loaned defender Clement Lenglet to Atletico Madrid.

Barca have also been helped because of a rule which allows clubs a discount for part of the wages of players who have long-term injuries.

The Spanish club says former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen will be out for four months.

Yamal and Lewandowski help Barcelona beat Athletic Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Olmo came through Barcelona’s youth teams before joining Dinamo Zagreb as a 16-year-old.

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He later joined RB Leipzig and was joint top-scorer at Euro 2024 with three goals as he helped Spain win the tournament for a record fourth time.

He rejoined Barcelona for a reported fee of 60m euros (£51m).

La Liga’s economic rules were agreed in 2013, aimed at guaranteeing the sustainability of the competition.

It means that all clubs have a limit on player expenditure, essentially not being able to spend more on the playing squad than they earn in a season.

If a club’s squad cost limit is set lower than their total wage bill, not all players in the squad can be registered to play in La Liga.

Barcelona have had well-documented financial issues in recent years. They were unable to immediately register striker Robert Lewandowski when he signed in 2022.