After four years, Dani Olmo is leaving RB Leipzig and moving to FC Barcelona. The Bundesliga club will be compensated with a transfer package worth around 60 million euros. This became official on Friday afternoon.
“Dani Olmo is an exceptional player, as he once again impressively demonstrated at the European Championships,” Marcel Schäfer, Managing Director of Sport at Leipzig, was quoted as saying: “He has proven his worth for RB Leipzig in various games and experienced many sporting highlights with our club: above all the 2020 Champions League semi-final, the two DFB Cup wins and the 2023 Super Cup win with his three goals.”
Leipzig have long known what they had in Dani Olmo, who joined Saxony from Dinamo Zagreb in 2020 and now looks back on 148 games and 29 goals. Last season, he appeared 21 times in the Bundesliga for RB, scoring four goals, providing six assists and a kicker grade average of 2.97.
Now Dani Olmo is moving back to FC Barcelona, for whom he had already played as a youth player. In Catalonia, he will receive a six-year contract until June 30, 2030, the jersey with the number 20 – and an exit clause of 500 million euros.
“His move to FC Barcelona is once again a reward for the good work done in Leipzig,” Schäfer confirmed: “Dani was not only a very valuable player for RBL on the pitch, he also has a great character and a strong personality. “
Spanish fist at the European Championship
His star really rose at the European Championships. The delicate technician proved to be a real asset for Spain, impressing in the quarter-final against Germany (2:1) with a goal and an assist and then also scoring in the semi-final against France to make it 2:1.
This only increased Dani Olmo’s appeal to top international clubs, especially as he could be released from his contract with RB, which runs until 2027, for the fixed transfer fee of €60 million – almost a bargain for a 26-year-old of his caliber in this day and age.
Liverpool, Bayern and ManCity also interested
This release clause expired at the end of June, but the player’s departure was still on the cards. However, the interested parties were now forced to enter into negotiations with RB, which finally came to a conclusion on Friday. The Leipzig club are to be compensated by Barcelona with a transfer package equivalent to the amount of the expired release clause
Among the interested parties was the who’s who of European soccer. Liverpool, FC Bayern and Manchester City have all been linked with the Spaniard. And it was his youth club FC Barcelona that won the race in the end.
“The city has become my home in recent years – years that were very formative for me as a footballer, but also as a person. I will be forever grateful for that,” said Dani Olmo on his departure, adding: “Special thanks also go to Marco Rose, with whom I built up a very good relationship. It’s not easy to leave now – also because of him. I wish him and the team all the best. “
