Can it get any worse for Barcelona? Yes it can, and it will be. In the wake of the scandal of the century, that indictment against the Catalan club in the case of former referee Negreiro, i.e. bribery of referees, Barca was hit by a new problem, and it’s potentially a big one. In the center of attention is Gavi, one of the most talented teenagers not only in Spain, but in the whole of Europe. The judge suspended the registration of the 18-year-old midfielder’s professional contract, which further implies that next summer the guy with a market value of 90,000,000 euros can leave the club without compensation. And the list of European giants who are after the player is long.Scandal of the century in Spain: Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against BarcelonaBarcelona’s Commercial Court lifted the precautionary measure that allowed La Liga to register Gavi’s professional contract until the summer of 2026 on the last day of January. However, the decision was changed in the meantime since Barcelona submitted the request after the deadline. At the beginning of the year, Gavi therefore agreed to stay at Camp Nou and a contract with a buyout clause of 1 billion euros was signed. The first verdict was in Barca’s favor, Gavi was registered as a first team player. According to the Spanish media, he will have to return the number six on the jersey, which he got when signed the contract, and replace it with the number 30 jersey he wore before registering for the first team. However, an appeal by the president of Spain’s Primera, Javier Tebas followed, and the justice system turned against the championship leader for submitting the request a day after the deadline.Xavi hails De Jong as one of the best midfielders in the worldBarcelona have the right to appeal the new decision, but at the moment they have to accept that Gavi is not registered for the first team. That doesn’t mean Xavi won’t be able to count on him. Certainly, the teenager, as a player of the B team, will play El Clasico next weekend, which Barcelona can seal the fight for the title. In the case of Gavi, Barcelona faces another problem, which is a salary of around 8 million euros per year. Tebas has already publicly told Barcelona that in order to fit into the framework of financial fair play before the 2023/24 season, they must cut expenses related to the salaries of football players by 200 million euros. Several times in the previous year, it was said that Gavi could leave Barca for free if his contract is not registered, and if he and his agent Ivan de la Pena get tired of the constant problems surrounding the contract. The whole story certainly alarmed clubs like Bayern, Liverpool, Chelsea… The giants are on alert, and Barcelona will have to find a proper solution if they wanna carry out their initial plan – to make Pedri/Gavi tandem the new Xavi/Iniesta project.##NAJAVA_MECA_7087816##
