Kolkata : Barcelona have signed Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo on 6 years deal from RB Leipzig, until June 2030, the club announced on August 9.
The Spaniard will return back to the club where he spent 7 years of his youth days in the Youth Academy, before joining Dinamo Zagreb at age of 16, in 2014. He played for Leipzig since 2020 Bundesliga.
The signing amount for Olmo is €500 million, as Barcelona announced.
Leipzig manager Marcel Schafer on Dani Olmo
RB Leipzig’s sporting managing director, Marcel Schafer, admired Olmo’s contributions to the German club. “Dani Olmo is an exceptional player, as he most recently demonstrated at the European Championship. He has proven his worth time and time again for RB Leipzig and experienced many sporting highlights with our club: above all the 2020 Champions League semi-final, the two DFB Pokal victories, and the 2023 Supercup win, where he scored a hat-trick.”
Dani Olmo on his time with Leipzig
Olmo, reflecting on his time with Leipzig, described the experience as “indescribable.” The 26 years old has been part of Leipzig’s win in DFL Supercup 2023, DFB Pokal 2021-22, 2022-23.
He said, “We were able to celebrate together the first titles in the club’s history with the two Cups and the Supercup. It was a dream for me to move from Croatia to Leipzig four and a half years ago. The city became my home in recent years… years that have had a huge impact on me as a footballer, but also as a person. I will be forever grateful for that.”
Dani Olmo On Joining Barcelona
Upon joining Barca, his youth club, he said, “I’m very happy, it’s a dream come true, I’m coming home with my family and teammates. I’m looking forward to getting started, I’m very proud that Barca has made this effort, that they want me”.
On intense negotiations
Reflecting on intense negotiations, smooth processes, he said, “There were intense negotiations, but it is normal. Everything has been done very quickly with Leipzig and I am also very grateful to them. Now a new stage begins and we are going for everything”.
On Playing with likes of Robert Lewandowski
Joining with stars such as Robert Lewandowski, he expressed his excitement saying, “Versatility, quality, first touch, I have already played with many Barca players. There is a lot of quality here, I want to play with players like Lewandowski and I am prepared to contribute.”
Aim To Win For Barcelona
Concluding with his clear aim for Barcelona , that is to win, he said, “The objective is to win, we are Barca and we have to compete for everything, we have a team, we have the players, we have the staff and we are going to go for everything”.
What does it mean for Barcelona?
Olmo played a vital part in Spain’s Euro Cup 2024 win. He was also part of the Spanish team in 2022-23 Nation’s League win.
The inclusion of Olmo in Xavi’s planned squad powered with Spaniard like Lamie Yamal, & a probable signing of Nico Willams whom Barcelona are eyeing for will help them strengthen their attack, midfield.
