Barcelona have been dealt with a massive blow ahead of some very crucial fixtures coming up in La Liga. Their star midfielder Gavi, who is still in his teenage days, is considered a youth player and requires to be registered to take further action in the league. However, the club have failed to complete his registration due to some paperwork mishap, leaving the player in shambles.
The Catalan club announced on January 31 that a court had allowed them to sign up Gavi as a first-team player, despite La Liga’s attempt to block the deal. The Spanish first division vowed to appeal, and the Mercantile Court of Barcelona overturned Gavi’s registration, citing the fact that Barca failed to turn in their paperwork on time. Barcelona will appeal the decision, according to Relevo.
La Liga continue to remain strong in their stance and asserted that Xavi Hernandez’s team could not afford Gavi’s €8 million(£7.1m/$8.6m) salary due to the fact that they were over their agreed squad budget for 2022-23. The court originally ruled otherwise, allowing the 18-year-old Spaniard to be registered as a first-team squad member. But now, Barca will have to wait until the summer to sign on their young star, who is still regarded as a youth player.
The bigger fear for the club is that Gavi could become a free agent in June, should his senior deal be annulled once again. However, sources close to the club told ESPN that they do not expect that to happen. La Liga, however, maintain that the Barcelona need to cut off €200m (£177m/$215m) from their budget in order to make any further signings or registrations.
Barcelona are currently facing two registration challenges for the upcoming summer. They are yet to settle on Ronald Araujo’s deal after he agreed an extension back in April 2022. The club also insist they will be able to dip into the transfer market to strengthen their squad for next year, despite the league’s insistence that they are barred from doing so.
Barcelona are currently top of La Liga and have established a healthy nine point lead against title contenders Real Madrid. They also boast of the best defensive record in the league, conceding just eight goals in 25 league matches. Visit Nextbet and explore more Football and betting news in one place.
