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

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

The 18-year-old was handed the iconic number 6 shirt in January, which had previously been worn by current manager Xavi during his playing days at the Catalan club.

Gavi signed his first professional contract with Barça in September, which came with a significant salary increase, but the club have been unable to enlist him in the first-team squad.

They are still struggling to manage their finances after exceeding the agreed budget for the season when Gavi signed his first senior contract, meaning they are now unable to register him for their team.

Barca now risk losing their combative young midfielder for free in the summer if they can’t get to the bottom of the problem before then.

Gavi has been stripped of his number 6 shirt at Barcelona and removed as an official first-team player amid a registration dispute with LaLiga.

LaLiga has confirmed on its website that Gavi has returned to his old number

The teenage sensation will be listed among his academy players for the time being.

In the official squad lists published on the LaLiga website, Gavi appears with the number 30, the same one he wore when he broke into the image of the first team.

According to reports, Barcelona remain confident that they will be able to free up space within their budget to register Gavi this summer.

They have also reached agreements to extend the contracts of Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto throughout this season, which may have more 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 the Barça midfield but will not be classified as a star of the first team

Barcelona risk losing their Golden Boy winner for free if they can’t resolve the situation

The four-year contract extension that Gavi signed in September also included a release clause of 879 million pounds sterling (1,000 million euros), which will no longer be valid because LaLiga blocked the registration of his new contract.

Several clubs across Europe are interested in taking over the current Golden Boy award holder, who could leave for free in the summer if Barcelona have not signed him by then.

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