Barcelona draw up desperate contingency plan to keep Dani Olmo as second court rejects appeal

Barcelona have faced another setback in their efforts to keep Dani Olmo away from the clutches of several European giants.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca’s second appeal for the precautionary registration of Olmo has been rejected, meaning he can’t play for the club from January 1 onwards.

The Catalan giants initially launched a court appeal to register both Olmo and Pau Victor earlier in December, but it yielded no positive results.

Refusing to throw in the towel, they decided to file a fresh appeal to the magistrate court but were met with the same response on Monday.

La Liga initially gave Barca the green light to register Olmo and Victor for the first half of the season, giving the club a temporary permit until they secured a new revenue stream before January.

However, that four-month period ends on December 31, and the latest court ruling means Olmo’s registration cannot be extended under current conditions.

La Liga has already welcomed the decision from the magistrate court, noting that ‘none of the conditions necessary for the adoption of the precautionary measure’ had been met by Barca.

The latest setback has forced the Catalan giants to draw up a desperate contingency plan.

They now want to use money from the sale of VIP boxes at the newly refurbished Camp Nou to sort out their financial mess and extend Olmo’s registration before the end-of-year deadline.

That move will require approval from La Liga and they should get a response on Tuesday.

If that doesn’t work, Barca’s last resort would be to secure personal bank guarantees from board members, a method they used in 2023 to register Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto, Inaki Pena and Gavi.

Barca announced a new sponsorship deal with Nike, but it wasn’t enough to register the two players.

If they fail to sort out their financial issues before the transfer window opens, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City could make their move for the dazzling forward.