Barcelona’s Gavi loses No 6 shirt and first-team status amid registration row with LaLiga

Barcelona teenager Gavi has been stripped of his squad number and removed as an official first-team player amid a registration row between his club and La Liga. 

The 18-year-old was handed the iconic No 6 shirt in January, which had previously been worn by current manager Xavi throughout his playing days for the Catalan club. 

Gavi signed his first professional contract for Barca back in September, which came with a significant increase in wages, but the club have not been able to register him as a first-team squad member. 

They are still struggling to manage their finances after exceeding their agreed budget for the season when Gavi penned his first senior deal, meaning they have now been blocked from registering him in their squad. 

Barca now risk losing their combative young midfielder for free in the summer if they are not able to get to the bottom of the issue before then.

Gavi has been stripped of his No 6 shirt at Barcelona and removed as an official first-team player amid a registration row with LaLiga

LaLiga has confirmed on its website that Gavi has switched back to his old squad number 

The teen sensation will be listed among their academy players for the time being.

In the official squad lists posted on LaLiga’s website, Gavi can be found listed with No 30, the same number he wore when breaking into the first-team picture. 

Barcelona reportedly remain confident they will be able to free up space within their budget to register Gavi this summer. 

They have also agreed deals to extend the contracts of Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto over the course of this season, which may have further effects on their annual budget. 

Barca have also been linked with a sensational move to bring Lionel Messi back to the club as a free agent in the summer once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires in June. 

The teenager is already a mainstay in Barca’s midfield but won’t be classed as a first team star

Barcelona risk losing their Golden Boy winner for free if they are unable to resolve the situation

The four-year contract extension that Gavi signed in September also included an £879million (€1 billion) release clause, which will no longer be valid as LaLiga have blocked the registration of his new deal. 

A number of clubs across Europe are interested in picking up the current holder of the Golden Boy award, who could leave for free in the summer if Barcelona still haven’t registered him by then. 

Bayern Munich are particularly interested in bringing the young Spaniard to Bavaria if he were to become available, while Manchester United and Liverpool are also circling, according to Goal.