Barcelona's young star Gavi could leave the club for free this summer following the confirmation that his first team status was revoked by the Spanish courts earlier this month. The Mercantile Court overturned its decision to grant registration of the midfielder to the first team, following La Liga's appeal of the decision.
As a result of the ruling, Gavi had to relinquish his number six shirt and return to his No. 30 kit. With the 18-year-old midfielder was re-registered under his youth contract, and the contract extension he signed back in September has not been ratified by La Liga. Although he is still allowed to represent Barcelona, his contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and the player will receive a paltry salary of €1 million per season, as opposed to the €8 million agreed in the new contract.
The confirmation of Gavi's situation came after his profile reappeared on La Liga's website on Wednesday with his old number 30, as per Cataluyna newspaper Mundo Deportivo. He had been wearing number six since February, but as a result of the ruling, he must return to his previous shirt number.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Manchester City are reportedly keeping an eye on Gavi's situation at the club. Amid the chaos, Barcelona intend to make space for Gavi in their wage bill before the summer, as well as for the likes of Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso, and Sergi Roberto, who have all signed new contracts this season.
The first match that Gavi will wear number 30 again will be Saturday's fixture against Elche, but Barcelona will hope that they can get him back wearing number six next season. Despite the speculations about his future, the reigning Golden Boy award recipient is reportedly not deterred by his contract situation and remains determined and committed to the Barcelona cause.