Barcelona sporting director Deco was visibly agitated as he raised questions about Dani Olmo’s uncertain future.
The Euro 2024 winner was signed in the summer for £47m. Barcelona prioritized Olmo’s arrival rather than Nico Williams, as they only had a certain set of funds to work with, but even those finances initially did not have enough room in the club’s budget to sign the attacking midfielder.
The LeagueStrict financial regulations force all clubs to operate within a strict salary cap. Olmo sat out the team’s first two games and was only able to register after Andreas Christensen was hit with an Achilles injury. According to the budget regulations of the division, Barcelona they were allowed to use 80% of Christensen’s salary to sign another player. However, this is only a temporary measure and expires in January.
When Deco was repeatedly pushed on the subject of Olmo by Movistar journalist Ricardo Sierra earlier Barcelona win by 3-2 against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, he broke. “We came here to talk about football,” said the former Portugal international. “About better things. About the game. We won’t talk about that for now.”
Deco added vaguely, “These are internal matters… Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out.”
When Christensen returns from his layoff, Barcelona will have to find room within their existing budget to bring back Olmo. This could take the form of player sales during January transfer window and the Catalan giants are queuing up new financial leverage for next year.
Despite his outburst, Deco’s overall message was positive. “For sure we will be able to release Dani Olmo before the end of the year”, he insisted. “The club is working and everything is calm.
“The player is calm, don’t worry.”
