Barcelona had hoped to strengthen in January ahead of the second half of the season, following the departure of Memphis Depay to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid. However, league officials ruled that there could be no incomings at the club this month.
However, La Liga did state that there was a possibility that the first team contracts of Gavi and Ronald Araujo could be registered instead, which would see the former claim the number six shirt, famously worn by his boss Xavi Hernandez during his time at the club.
However, it appears that this will not be possible either, despite Gerard Pique no longer being registered as a Barcelona player as of Wednesday. Relevo report that the veteran defender was still on the books at La Liga until recently despite having retired in November.
With Pique’s wages off the books, Barca are now closer to the 1/1 rule adopted by La Liga for transfers. However, RAC-1 (via Relevo) report that the league still deems that Barca do not have the finances available to register Gavi, which is first priority of the club.
La Liga state that the club won’t even have the finances in the summer, meaning that they must work out a plan with league officials to show that they are improving their finances. Once La Liga are satisfied, then it will be viable for Barca to register Gavi and other first team contracts.
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