Raphael Dias Belloli, popularly known as Raphinha, has called out Barcelona president Joan Laporta on how his administration has handled Dani Olmo’s registration.
Credited as the man responsible for giving Pep Guardiola a chance and setting up Lionel Messi for success as both a football superstar and a global brand, Laporta ran for presidency in 2022 on the premise of taking Barcelona back to its glory days after the gross mismanagement of its assets by the Josep Bartomeu administration.
He defeated Victor Font to claim the seat and in that time, has effected a lot of changes; some good and some questionable. His main goal, however, is ensuring that the club is financially viable which is a task that cuts across its management, staffing and player acquisitions.
The jury remains out on how he has performed but one area where he is severely lacking is in player acquisition and management, which is where the issue with Dani Olmo and Pau Victor stems from.
Both players joined Barcelona in the summer but at the time, there were no guarantees that the club’s books – per LaLiga’s records – would be able to accommodate them beyond the first half of the season. Yet they signed and fulfilled their obligations as players with the hope that all would be sorted come January.
January is here and there is nothing that indicates that either player will be allowed to play for Barcelona again until the summer at least. It also means that the club will fall further into debt as both players may be forced to terminate their contracts this January while still retaining the rights to their salaries. The clubs from which they signed also retain the rights to the transfer fees, which Barcelona planned to amortise (in Olmo’s case).
The issue has spread concern and uncertainty in the squad who have come to not only accept both players as teammates, but built a system which greatly involves both of them.
Raphinha, one of the team’s captains and also one of Laporta’s first signings, is the first to speak out publicly on the issue and has called out Laporta for allowing things to get to this level. The former Leeds United man bluntly stated that transfers would become difficult for the club going forward because there are no longer any guarantees that the club can ensure that players are registered to play.
Speaking ahead of the mini tournament for the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, the Brazil international – who faced registration problems of his own when he joined as one of Laporta’s first signings in 2022 – said: “I think so (it could have an impact on whether players sign in the future).
“I can’t say the opposite because I would lie otherwise and I am not that kind of person.
“If I was in another club seeing the situation Olmo and Pau are going through, I would probably think twice about coming here or to another club.
“But when I signed for Barca I knew the situation the institution was going through, I saw a chance to play with this shirt and I waited until the very last moment. I don’t regret my decision.”
