BARCELONA REQUEST TO KEEP PLAYING OLMO AND VICTOR IS REJECTED

Getty 

Barcelona's Dani Olmo and Pau Victor will be unable to play for the LaLiga side in the second half of the season, Spanish football authorities said on Saturday after rejecting the club's latest attempt to extend their registrations.

Midfielder Olmo, 26, who helped Spain to European Championship glory last year, has been an integral part of Barcelona's team this season, while forward Victor, 23, has been largely restricted to substitute appearances.

Barca are third in LaLiga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

They signed Olmo from RB Leipzig on a six-year deal in August for around 55 million euros ($56.7 million) and Victor in July, but only registered them for the first half of the season due to LaLiga wage cap considerations.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) and LaLiga said in a joint statement they had rejected a request to register them both for the second half.

"The Monitoring Committee agrees not to grant the prior approval or the definitive licence requested by FC Barcelona for the players Daniel Olmo Carvajal and Pau Victor Delgado," the RFEF said.

Two courts had previously rejected the club's requests.

LaLiga had previously welcomed the legal rulings, saying additional spending was allowed so long-term injuries do not weaken a team but the rule should not be exploited to allow the registration of players whose salaries exceed the limit.

LaLiga had previously welcomed the legal rulings, saying additional spending was allowed so long-term injuries do not weaken a team but the rule should not be exploited to allow the registration of players whose salaries exceed the limit.

The club had managed to register Olmo after long-term injuries kept first-team players out of the squad for months, allowing Barca to allocate a portion of wages to register the player who was joint top scorer at Euro 2024.

Spanish media reported that Barcelona plan to file a complaint to the Spanish government via the Administrative Sports Court (CSD) in a last-ditch attempt to allow the pair to play.

There was no immediate comment from Barcelona.

Olmo and Victor were not named in the squad for Barca's Copa del Rey match against fourth-tier side Barbastro on Saturday.

"Everyone wants Dani Olmo and Pau Victor back," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told a press conference following his team's 4-0 win .

"We played focused, we played well. I haven't seen the team suffer because of this situation... We have to be professional and accept (it)."

Both players' profiles have been removed from the LaLiga website.

It is not the first time Barca have failed to register a key player. The Catalan let Lionel Messi leave in 2021 even though the Argentine forward wanted to extend his stay at the club where he started his career.

($1 = 0.9701 euros)

- Reuters