Gavi loses his eligibility to play for Barca's first team.

Gavi returned to playing wearing the number 30 jersey.

Last September, Barca agreed to offer the 18-year-old midfielder a new contract, bringing Gavi's salary closer to that of younger teammates like Pedri, Ansu Fati, and Ronald Araujo, valid until 2026. He was also given the iconic number 6 shirt, previously worn by coach Xavi Hernandez during his time at Barcelona.

With this move, Gavi would officially become a first-team player, no longer playing as a youth player at Barcelona. However, La Liga prevented this from happening. The reason is that Gavi's new salary is not included in the budget for the 2022/23 season that Barca is allowed to pay.

Therefore, Gavi was forced to return to playing as a Juvenil A player, Barca's youth team. The official La Liga website also stripped Gavi of the number 6 jersey when updating the squad list of the Camp Nou club. From this point on, the Spanish midfielder will wear the number 30 jersey. Gavi will also naturally not be able to receive the new salary stipulated in the contract signed in September.

MarcaIt was revealed that Barca had actually successfully registered Gavi on January 31st. However, La Liga appealed, claiming that Barca had not registered him within the deadline. The court immediately ruled in favor of La Liga. But because no specific decision was made at that time, Gavi was allowed to continue playing as a first-team player wearing the number 6 shirt. Only now has La Liga successfully stripped Gavi of his first-team status.

Signing a new contract with Barca would mean a significant increase in Gavi's income. However, Article 101 of La Liga's regulations on club budgets states: "A player may only sign a new contract in the middle of the season if their club receives the approval of the governing body." And La Liga did not agree.

Furthermore, the total new salary must not exceed the limit the team has already set for the next season. This is something Barca cannot meet if they sign Gavi with a new contract.

Gavi was forced to give up the number 6 jersey. Photo:Reuters

Gavi will have to continue playing for Barca under his old contract until the summer of 2024 as a youth player. However, the Spanish international's agreement includes a clause allowing him to leave Camp Nou as a free agent in the summer of 2023 if he is not registered in the first team squad. This is a major concern for Barca, as a number of European giants are eyeing the 19-year-old prodigy.

In 2020, Gavi, then only 16 years old, signed his first professional contract with Barca. The deal was for four years, but the release clause was only 50 million euros. In September 2022, Barca extended Gavi's contract for the second time until summer 2026, including a release clause of up to 1 billion euros to protect the rising star from other clubs.

The young player, born in 2004, has played over 80 matches, starting for both Barca and the Spanish national team. He also performed well in the recent World Cup and is currently valued at 90 million euros, making him the 11th most expensive player in the world according to Transfermarkt.