Barcelona will be gathering their legal team once again after a court ruling put Gavi’s future at the club under serious threat. The 18-year-old signed a new contract this year, but that contract will only come into force provided he is registered with the first-team before the summer – this ruling threatens that status.
According to Relevo, a Barcelona court has lifted the temporary ruling on Gavi’s registration. He was previously registered under that ruling, with La Liga powerless to stop it. However it has transpired that they submitted their claim a day late, meaning that the ruling has been annulled.
Gavi is out of contract this year, and if he is not registered before the 30th of June, he will be available on a free. Currently he can continue playing on his Barcelona Atletic contract for the first-team, although they will not be able to justify in their accounts the fact that he was playing on an €8m per year contract rather than his youth deal. It is not yet known what consequences that might hold, but it could lead to further salary limit sanctions from La Liga.
La Liga have vowed to fight Gavi’s registration to the last. The judge could ultimately find in Barcelona’s favour in the case, but it remains up in the air, and there is no certainty over how long the case will take to be resolved.
The matter of debate stems from a new rule brought in by La Liga in November, after Gavi and Ronald Araujo signed their new deals, that states that clubs must be able to justify a player’s contract for two years based on forecast accounts, which currently Barcelona are unable to do. Only then can they be registered.
If the judge finds in La Liga’s favour, the Blaugrana could risk losing one of their best and most promising talents in Gavi, who has been a mainstay in their team this season.
