Dani Olmo transfer saga takes new twist as Barcelona suffer major blow amid Man Utd interest

The future of Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo has been cast into further doubt after the ongoing transfer saga took a fresh twist on Friday morning.

As things stand, Olmo is not eligible to play for Barcelona from the start of next year as his temporary registration expires at the end of 2024.

In short, when the attacking midfielder joined from RB Leipzig in the summer for around £50 million, he was unable to be registered because of the club's ongoing financial issues.

He missed Barca's first two matches of the season but after Andreas Christensen picked up a long-term achilles injury, Olmo was registered as an emergency player.

The 26-year-old has notched six goals in 14 games for the Catalan giants but as mentioned earlier, his temporary registration expires at the end of the year, which plunges his future into doubt.

The Commercial Court of Barcelona heard from Barcelona and La Liga last Monday, with the league arguing that the Catalan giants still need to generate more income to register the two players in order to comply with financial regulations.

Barcelona are hoping that a contract for the sale of VIP seats at the Nou Camp, valued at £166 million, could be enough to register the two players ahead of the deadline on January 1.

But now, Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo suggest Barca's latest appeal for the registration of Olmo has been rejected after the Commercial Court of Barcelona failed to grant the precautionary measure.

Barcelona will have until December 31 to register the Spain international and, according to the report, they will present a new lawsuit against La Liga in the Lower Court on December 30.

Dani Olmo could leave Barcelona for free next month. Image credit: Getty

Earlier this month, Mundo Deportivo claimed Olmo has a clause in his contract which allows him to leave Barcelona on a free if he is not registered in January.

Manchester United and Manchester City have been linked with a move for Olmo in recent days, with his agent Andy Bara being present at City's draw with Everton on Thursday.

When asked by the Daily Mail if he was in Manchester, Bara replied that he was visiting the city on holiday.