Barcelona star Gavi stripped of shirt number to put Liverpool on alert
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Liverpool and Manchester City may have been handed a significant boost in their reported hopes of securing the coup of the summer transfer window. Gavi’s Barcelona future has been rained on by a shower of uncertainty again after La Liga confirmed it had blocked his new contract.
In September, Barcelona tied the 18-year-old midfielder down to a new long-term contract worth around £110,000 a week.
By changing his youth deal to a professional one, the Blaugrana bumped up his release clause from £50million to an eye-watering £880m to fend off reported interest from Liverpool and Man City.
However, La Liga has since blocked the renewal, stripping Gavi of senior status and reawakening the threat of a disastrous free transfer when his youth contract expires in July.
La Liga has updated its official website to confirm that Gavi has sacrificed his newly-inherited No 6 shirt to revert back to No 30 after returning to Barcelona’s Juvenil A records.
The change will come into effect this weekend as Barca return from the international break with a La Liga trip to Elche.
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La Liga previously announced that the Nou Camp giants couldn’t register Gavi the league applied salary caps and spending limitations based on their revenue.
The court initially ruled in Barcelona’s favour after La Liga president Javier Tebas prohibited the club from making any more signings in 2023.
However, The Times reported that Barca missed the deadline to file their case, voiding his senior contract.
It would seem like that has now occurred with just three months until he becomes a free agent.
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Liverpool may be looking at Gavi’s situation with particular interest amid continued links with the Spain international.
Jurgen Klopp plans to revamp his midfield this summer, with Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner set to leave on free transfers.
Unsurprisingly, the Reds won’t make Arthur’s loan spell from Juventus permanent after relentless injury and fitness concerns this season.
Gavi’s preference will likely be to stay in Catalonia, but he won’t be short of high-profile suitors if he’s made to leave his boyhood club.
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