Barcelona tried to register Gavi as a first-team player who was REFUSED by LaLiga and is now banned from the squad

BARCELONA’S attempt to register prodigy Gavi as a first-team player has been REFUSED by Laliga and the Spanish giants are banned from their squad.

Gavi, 18, is currently listed as an academy player.

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The Spain international signed a new contract in September and Barca felt he fits LaLiga’s criteria for a first-team player.

And so they hoped to register Gavi and were confident their request would be processed when they sent in the paperwork.

But according to The Athletic, Barca’s attempt to register the La Masia prodigy was rejected by LaLiga.

Barca can’t register new contracts on his payslip now due to LaLiga salary caps.

The Camp Nou club had figured the departures of Memphis Depay and Gerard Pique would allow them to register Gavi.

Barca have a negative record, largely due to their elimination from the Champions League in the group stage.

And so La Liga didn’t confirm Gavi’s extension.

Looking ahead to the summer, Barca need to significantly reduce their wage costs or find new sponsors to register deals.

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They will also not be able to fall back on the tricks of the past summer and will not be able to use any further economic levers.

It allowed Barca to register players in the summer but this route was halted after LaLiga changed their rules to lessen their impact on salary cap calculations.

Barca kept the number six in the squad for Gavi since last summer.

They wanted to give Gavi the iconic shirt worn by the likes of Dani Alves and current manager Xavi when he was officially registered as a first-team player.

But he has to stay at number 30 as he can’t wear a squad number below 25 as technically he’s still an academy player.

Defender Ronald Araujo is in the same situation as Gavi.

He agreed to a contract extension until 2026 but is still not registered as a first-team player in LaLiga.