Four English clubs have joined Manchester United and City as they circle Dani Olmo as the clock ticks on Barcelona's chances of signing him to LaLiga.
The Catalan side's second attempt to register their summer signing for the second half of the season was rejected yesterday by Barcelona's Court of First Instance 47.
The attacking midfielder signed for £50million from Red Bull Leipzig last summer but could only be registered on a temporary basis until the end of the calendar year due to Barcelona's ongoing LaLiga financial constraints.
It means Olmo could leave as a free agent in January if the Spanish Football Federation continues to block his registration as they push for the Catalan giants to make more cuts, find more revenue and meet their financial guidelines.
Barcelona have taken legal action against LaLiga and initially hoped to reach a resolution before next week, but these have been scaled back twice and their Spanish star is getting closer to the door.
And it appears England's biggest sides are lining up in the race to secure his signature, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham joining early leaders United, City and Arsenal, Mundo Deportivo reports.
It is believed that Arsenal were the first club to show interest in Olmo, while Chelsea and Spurs have recently joined the bandwagon.
Predictably, they are not alone in the race to be the winner of Euro 2024. German giants Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are weighing him up and his former side Leipzig are making it clear he will always have a home there.
Over the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain joined the fray as they continued to look for creative reinforcements, with Lyon's Rayan Cherki considered another option amid the French club's own financial problems.
PSG boss Luis Enrique already knows Olmo from the Spanish national team and is monitoring his situation at Barcelona.
However, the player himself is reportedly remaining professional throughout the saga and is determined to see out his contract, which runs until 2030.
He trained on New Year's Eve from 10 a.m., despite not knowing where his future lies, AS reported on Tuesday.
Barcelona have continued to reassure his entourage that they can do a deal, but his team are believed to be disappointed with the saga.
By midday – just 12 hours before he can talk to other clubs – chiefs on the Catalan side are said to still be preparing new documentation for LaLiga, with president Joan Laporta, treasurer Ferran Olivé and first vice-president Rafa Yuste met at Camp Nou all morning.
In response to the Christmas setback, the Catalan giants have filed a new lawsuit against LaLiga in a last-ditch effort to have their summer contracts available for the second half of the season.
It was expected that they would make the argument that the registration rules are invalid because they are regulated by a body they consider incompetent.
According to SPORT, a contract for the sale of VIP seats was tabled at a meeting on Monday to try to ease their financial constraints.
The LaLiga giants hope the package would in principle be sold for around £166 million (€200 million) – in a desperate bid to raise money and sign Olmo and Victor.
Mail Sport revealed on Boxing Day that, as time ticks down, the situation has alerted leading Premier League clubs such as City, United and Arsenal, who have shown keen interest in whether a player so important to Spain's victory over the 2024 European Championship could be available for nothing. next month.
Olmo's priority has always been to stay at his boyhood club Barcelona, but the drawn-out process is said to have forced his agent Andy Bara to explore potential moves for the 26-year-old, who is recognized as one of the best attacking midfielders in the game world. Europe.
Croatian Bara, 42, owns Niagara Sports Company, one of the largest agencies in the world.
A former centre-back, he has built a reputation as a leading agent representing Olmo, Spain captain Alvaro Morata and other figures such as Lovro Majer and previously Marcelo Brozovic.
Bara also played a role in City's £77m deal to sign Josko Gvardiol from Red Bull Leipzig in 2023.
Bara flew to Manchester on a private jet ahead of City's draw against Everton and was due to attend the match.
Contacted by Mail Sport, Bara confirmed: 'Yes, it is true that I am in Manchester. I'm here on holiday.'
It was also recently reported that Barcelona have issued ultimatums to both Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araujo, with the pair's contracts set to expire in 2026.
It appears that Uruguayan star Araujo will soon put pen to paper and is expected to move into a more important role within the first team and compete with other centre-backs, including Iñigo Martínez and Pau Víctor, for a place in the squad.
De Jong is a slightly different case, having been handed a £72m overmuch from Ajax in 2019, with the Dutchman missing part of the start of the season after suffering an ankle ligament injury in April.
And the central midfielder could be ready for a change after refusing a contract extension earlier this year, meaning negotiations will have to start again.
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