Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo has revealed that the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor has “worried” him and his team-mates.
The Catalan giants only managed to register Olmo and Victor for the first six months of the season as a temporary measure following Andreas Christensen’s long-term injury. That expired on December 31st. Barcelona failed to prove that it had raised the necessary funds to make room in the player’s salary budget before the end of 2024, so the two removed from the official La Liga database.
Despite posing as eternally optimistic that a solution will be found, La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) rejected Barcelona’s request for re-registration of the couple. Although the authorities belatedly confirmed the revenue from the VIP seat contract, this guarantee was only given after the December 31 deadline. Once a player’s registration expires, he cannot re-register for the same club in one season.
Olmo and Victor were not part of it Barcelonateam that faced fourth-tier Barbastra on Saturday night, but Araujo returned for his first appearance of the season after recovering from injury. As expected, the Capitals were asked about the duo after the 4-0 win.
“We are a little worried because they are two very important players for us,” Araujo said Movistar+. “It’s a topic that’s distasteful to our teammates, but hopefully it can be resolved.”
The captain added: “As captain I tried to dissuade them.”
Olmo has remained publicly dissatisfied the chaos surrounding his future. The Euro 2024 winner inserted a clause into his contract when he signed for Barcelona in the summer which allowed him to become a free agent if this option to sign up arose.
However, Olm’s agent always insisted that his client has no intention of leaving Barcelona despite the great interest of many Premier League clubs.
Barcelona has not lost hope of keeping Olmo and Victor. The giants of La Liga have one the ultimate ruse in their attempt to retain the duo, taking the above case La Liga and RFEF to the Spanish government. The High Council for Sports (CSD) will hear Barcelona’s appeal on Tuesday, January 7, although there could be a significant delay before a final decision is made.
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