Update: We got confirmation: Gavi will be back in the number 30 shirt this weekend according to the official La Liga website, as spotted by @memorabilia1899.
Update: Another twist emerges regarding the contract situation and the shirt number of Barcelona's starlet. Gavi, as a new court ruling, apparently will force him to give up wearing the number 6 kit for the remainder of this season and return to using number 30.
A court in the city of Barcelona have annulled the player’s recent contract registration to La Liga as the club apparently were a day late in submitting the registration which means that the 18-year-old's new deal is not effective.
As reported by Pol Ballús of The Athletic, on March 21, La Liga have officially accepted the court ruling and return Gavi's contract with Barca to his previous youth deal. The midfielder will still play for the Catalan outfit this season but things can get interesting next season.
Although the midfielder wants to stay with Barcelona since he did sign an extension until 2026 last September, he does have a clause in his contract that allows him to leave on a free transfer if the club can't register him by June 30, 2023. The Catalan outfit are working on appealing the court ruling, insisting that they have done everything in the correct way.
If their appeal gets accepted, everything will return to normal for Barca, but if they don't win the court battle, Gavi's future might be away from Camp Nou. Nevertheless, for this season, Barca and their fans won't have to worry about losing their young star just yet.
March 14: Barcelona starlet Gavi will continue to play wearing his new number 6 jersey for the remainder of this season amid recent controversy regarding his contract status.
Gavi to Still Play With Number 6 for Barcelona Amid Contract Registration Annulment
The Blaugrana’s contract registration for the 18-year-old’s latest extension to La Liga earlier this season has apparently been lifted through a court ruling. According to Relevo, a court in the city of Barcelona has annulled the temporary registration for Gavi’s latest contract extension which see the midfielder being able to finally wear the number 6 jersey.
On February 1, this year, Barcelona announced that their young midfielder is changing their jersey number from 30 to 6. That announcement also means that La Liga have accepted Barca’s new contract registration via a precautionary ruling following Gavi’s extension which was signed back in September 2022.
Gavi Inherits Iconic Barcelona No. 6 Kit
The Court Deemed Barcelona Were Late In Registering Gavi's Contract
Unfortunately, the precautionary court ruling that allowed La Liga to accept the Spanish international’s registration has now been lifted. The reason for a court in the city of Barcelona to lift that ruling is that Barcelona submitted it a day late, thus it’s now annulled.
La Liga at the moment can’t stop the annulment, which basically means that if Gavi’s contract is still not officially registered before June 30, the midfielder will be available on a free transfer next summer. Barcelona and La Liga will be trying hard to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
Fortunately, despite the registration annulment, Gavi can still play wearing his number 6 jersey until the end of this current season both in the league and Copa del Rey. Moreover, the player’s current contract status won’t disturb his status as a Barca player for now, as the club can still use his youth player contract.
Gavi started wearing the no. 30 kit this season before changing it into the current number 6 right after the January transfer window closed. He did still wear his number 30 jersey in Europa League due to UEFA rule but that only lasted for one game as Barca were eliminated by Manchester United and the young midfielder missed the away leg due to suspension.
Gavi Still Wears Number 30 for Barcelona in Europa League
Barcelona Confident in Their Appeal Attempt
Barcelona will try to appeal the court’s annulment, claiming that they didn’t register the contract beyond the grace period. Nevertheless, the Blaugrana could once again face questions of how they can guarantee Gavi’s contract for the next two seasons. A situation in which they previously won in court with a temporary ruling but unfortunately the registration was not submitted in time.
The Catalan side remain confident that they will eventually win the appeal, believing their stance in the matter a correct one. If the court does agree with them, things will return to normal again but if not, Gavi's future with Barca are set to become uncertain again.
What do you think about Barcelona’s troublesome situation with Gavi’s contract? Share your opinion below.