Hansi Flick shared an update on Dani Olmo's availability amid claims that Barcelona have been unable to register the £51m ($66m) signing with La Liga.
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Barcelona's financial struggles continueAre yet to register Olmo with La LigaNew signing unavailable for Valencia clashWHAT HAPPENED?
Despite the club’s well-documented financial woes, Barcelona have continued to secure high-profile signings with Olmo, Spain’s Euro 2024 hero, being one of their marquee acquisitions this summer from RB Leipzig. The Spanish playmaker, who returned to his boyhood club, is yet to make his debut after being left out of the squad for the 3-0 defeat to AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Monday.
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Fans were hopeful that Olmo might be registered in time for Barcelona's La Liga opener against Valencia at Mestalla but Flick in his pre-match press conference on Friday, dashed those hopes by confirming that Olmo will not be available for the match. The manager said that the forward remains unavailable due to his physical condition rather than any registration problems.
WHAT FLICK SAID
"Dani Olmo is not in a good enough physical condition for tomorrow," he told reporters.
"We want to take care of him. It is important that everyone plays but also avoids injuries. We want everyone to be there and train, without getting injured."
When questioned about the ongoing issues with player registrations, Flick chose not to dwell on the topic and instead redirected attention to the Valencia battle. He confirmed that he would have 22-23 first-team players available to face Valencia and refrained from commenting further on the registration setbacks.
He added: "The things we can't change we don't think about. There are no excuses or complaints. Things were said. I have had many experiences in the past and I have arrived here with the situation that exists. We focus on tomorrow's game, we want to play a great match. Tomorrow morning the list of call-ups will be made official."
DID YOU KNOW?
However, much to the relief of the Blaugrana faithful, playmaker Pedri, who had been sidelined with an injury sustained while on international duty with Spain, is once again available for selection.
"I am very happy to have Pedri again. He will be able to play the second half tomorrow," informed Flick.
The German also addressed the recovery of Gavi, who is working his way back from a serious ACL injury.
"He is working very well but needs time," he said. "He's a great player and I have to thank all the coaches who are around him and are helping him. I don't want to put pressure on him, he's 20 years old and we have to take care of him."
