Dani Olmo explains real meaning behind his 'watch' celebration after scoring on Barcelona debut

Dani Olmo has explained the meaning behind his new celebration after finding the net on his Barcelona debut.

A former La Masia academy player, Olmo has returned to the Blaugrana in a £51 million deal following a stellar Euro 2024 campaign with Spain.

He penned a six-year deal with Barca and took the No.20 shirt but the club were initially unable to register him due to financial constraints.

Offloading three players didn't make a difference but Barca were able to exploit a loophole through Andreas Christensen's injury, allowing his registration.

Olmo made his debut for the Catalan side as a substitute on Tuesday against Rayo Vallecano.

He came off the bench to replace Ferran Torres at half-time when the team were losing.

Olmo went on to to score the winning goal in the 82nd minute to maintain Hansi Flick side's perfect start to the season.

And after finding the net with his left foot, Olmo celebrated by pointing to an imaginary watch in a time-related gesture.

Image: Getty

He did it for all three of his strikes at the Euros as Spain went all the way.

But Olmo has confirmed his celebration is a tribute to NBA star Damian Lillard, who plays for Milwaukee Bucks.

The celebration is known as 'Dame Time', who performs it whenever he shoots a clutch hoop.

Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, he said: “There is a player that I really like in NBA basketball, Damian Lillard, and he does this celebration when he makes important baskets and I like it a lot and I have taken it for football.”

The Bucks' official account on X reacted to the celebration, quoting Olmo's post and writing: "Dame Time is international".

Olmo spent time in Barca's academy before joining Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb and later excelling with RB Leipzig.

Image: Getty

But he always harboured hopes of heading back and was delighted with how his debut played out.

It was a dream, of course, to come back," Olmo told ESPN.

"I had no doubt when Barcelona knocked on my door. So I'm really happy to be here.

"I was confident the club [would sort out the registration]. I was ready, physically preparing for when I had the chance to start playing. Today I could make it, so I'm really, really happy how it went, how it finished and how it was really important for the team."