Gavi’s injury was a major blow to the FC Barcelona team last season, as it deprived Xavi Hernandez of one of his key midfielders. This incident, along with the physical issues of Alejandro Balde and Ter Stegen played a large part in keeping the Catalans from winning any piece of silverware in the 2023-24 season.
However, the midfielder’s injury still had a silver lining, as the Blaugranes used it to bring in a new player in the winter window and registered him with La Liga. The Catalans brought in Vitor Roque, whom they had already signed in the prior summer transfer window.
This was possible because of Article 77 of La Liga regulations, which allows clubs to register another player in one player’s stead if he suffers an injury that will keep him out of action for four or more months.
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, Barcelona can use Article 77 in their favor once again this summer, as Ronald Araujo is going to remain out for more than four months after his latest injury. The Uruguayan defender suffered an injury while playing in the 2024 Copa America with Uruguay, and had to undergo surgery to recover from this issue.
If Barcelona can prove Araujo’s injury and the duration of his absence to La Liga, they can use 80% of his salary space to register another player. This option can be helpful in the registration of Inigo Martinez, who signed a two-year contract but Barcelona registered him only for a single year with La Liga.
But it needs to be kept in mind here that even if Inigo Martinez is registered under this formula, Araujo will not stop being registered with La Liga. This was also the case with Gavi who remained registered as a Barcelona player despite the Catalans using his salary space to register Vitor Roque.
