La Liga have confirmed they have reduced Barcelona’s salary cap once again after ruling that the €100m sale of VIP seats in the new Camp Nou was not conducted in time.
The two parties have been locked in a complex legal dispute for past six months after Barcelona found themselves scrambling to extend Dani Olmo and Pau Victor’s registrations. While there was a debate surrounding whether the players’ licences could even be extended – Barcelona went over La Liga’s head to secure an emergency agreement with the government’s High Sports Committee (CSD) – the Blaugrana also had to prove they had the finances to complete new registrations.
Barcelona’s salary cap was raised at the turn of the year after the club produce evidence stating their €100m sale of VIP seats had been finalised on January 3, 2025. They were then granted the financial freedom needed to register both Olmo and Victor for the second half of the season.
More recently, Barcelona published their financial accounts for the year and made no mention of this €100m, with La Liga now alleging the deal was not actually completed on time.
In a statement, La Liga confirmed the receipt of official documentation from an auditor which confirmed the sale was legitimate on January 3. After raising Barcelona’s salary cap, La Liga officials grew concerned about the deal and requested an investigation from the same government branch which authorised Olmo and Victor’s emergency registrations.
When Barcelona’s financial accounts were submitted, a new auditor made no mention of the €100m sale, which La Liga have now ruled means they are in breach of Fair Play regulations once again as they did not have the required funds to raise their wage expenses in January. An investigation into the initial auditor has been requested.
A ruling on the legitimacy of Olmo’s emergency registration is due to arrive by April 6 and this new information would appear to cast significant doubt over the playmaker’s new licence.
The CSD are tasked with deciding whether Barcelona had provided evidence early enough to extend Olmo and Victor’s registrations before they expired on December 31, but now La Liga are working to prove the league leaders did not have the required funds to do so anyway.