Barcelona's new signing Ilkay Gundogan could reportedly be free to leave the club on a free transfer if he is not registered by Sunday.
After seven years at Manchester United, Gundogan decided to move on after winning the treble under former Barca boss Pep Guardiola last season.
Despite glaring financial difficulties, Barcelona moved fast to sign the Germany international on a free after his contract expired at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Forbes claims that a clause in Gundogan's deal means that if the club cannot register him ahead of their season opener against Getafe, he can leave for nothing.
Barcelona are believed to be paying Gundogan £8.6m a year on a two-year deal, but he will still be paid for this year even if he is not registered in time.
In a similar scenario to last season, Barcelona face a race against time to get their new signings registered for the start of the La Liga season.
A year ago, Robert Lewandowski and three other new faces were only registered on the eve of the new campaign, and history could repeat itself this season.
With the new season just days away, only 13 players have been registered, including Franck Kessie and Ousmane Dembele.
It is believed the imminent sales of Kessie and Dembele will fund the registration of Gundogan though, so president Joan Laporta is hoping that they can be completed this week.
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Kessie is set for a move to Saudi Arabia, while Dembele is bound to move back to his native France to join Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Inigo Martinez and Oriol Romeu are the two other notable new arrivals at Camp Nou this summer, but there are no signs of similar clauses in their contracts that would lead to the same potential outcome.
A clause in Gundogan's deal may state that he can leave for free, but the German midfielder spoke extremely highly of the club when signing.
The 32-year-old revealed it was a 'dream move' to join the Spanish giants, so even if the worst-case scenario occurs, he may not force his way out of the club.
Gundogan played a pivotal role in helping Man City to the treble last season, showing fine goalscoring form in the Premier League run-in to help snatch the title out of the grasp of challengers Arsenal.
It was his two superb volleys in the FA Cup final which saw City beat rivals Manchester United at Wembley too, before he featured in the Champions League final win over Inter Milan in Istanbul.
Gundogan is joining a club who, despite their crippling financial concerns, believe that they may be on their way back to the very top.
Xavi's side ran away with the La Liga title last season, but they did flatter to deceive in the cups, especially the Champions League, where they were eliminated in the group stage.
Andrew Delaney
