Barcelona LOSE appeal to register wonderkid Gavi as first-team player putting Man Utd and Liverpool on transfer alert
BARCELONA’S second attempt to register wonderkid Gavi as a first-team player has been REJECTED in court.
The Nou Camp giants had their original effort turned down by LaLiga back in January as the club were also banned from adding to their squad.
However, Mundo Deportivo is reporting that the club’s appeal against overturning the first-team registration of Gavi has been rejected.
Barcelona registered Gavi as a first-team player on January 31 after obtaining a precautionary measure from the court.
However, LaLiga filed an appeal against the same as they cited the fact that Xavi’s side had missed the deadline.
The court allegedly ruled in favour of the Spanish league earlier this month but no concrete verdict was reached as Gavi was allowed to continue as a first-team member.
But this fresh update states the financially troubled club appealed against the ruling last Wednesday but had their appeal rejected by the 10th Commercial Court of Barcelona.
That means that Gavi, who is a full Spanish international, will no longer be counted as a first-team member and must revert back to his youth contract until the end of the season.
And in what could be a huge boost for Manchester United, the attacker will also be deregistered for the next season as Barcelona have exceeded their salary limit.
As we reported previously, the Nou Camp club had thought the departures of Memphis Depay and Gerard Pique would allow them to register Gavi.
Barca have a negative balance, which is largely due to their Champions League exit in the group stages, and so LaLiga did not validate Gavi’s extension.
Barca will now have to significantly reduce their wage bill in summer, or find new sponsorships to register contracts.
We revealed how they could be set to unload some of their biggest stars as the troubled club look to raise £178m.
The Spanish giants face a summer of no incoming signings after wild spending left the club struggling to reign in their costs.
Player sales appear the most likely way to get the situation under control and Premier League clubs are among those who could be circling.
United and Liverpool have been joined by Bayern Munich in the race to sign Gavi.
But he is not the only one that could be going out the exit door.
Ex-Leeds star Raphinha, who only arrived at the Nou Camp a year ago, and fellow United target Frenkie de Jong are among 10 players who could also be sold to free up funds.