Olmo dismisses Real Madrid's criticism as envy after two trophy-less years

Dani Olmo has accused Real Madrid of trying to destabilise Barcelona through public criticism and legal complaints, arguing that the noise from the Bernabéu is a direct consequence of two trophy-less years for Los Blancos while the Blaugrana dominated Spanish football. The Spain international made his remarks in an interview with RAC1 during a summer in which tensions between the clubs have escalated sharply on and off the pitch.

The backdrop to Olmo’s comments is a sustained period of institutional friction. Real Madrid filed a complaint against Barcelona in connection with the Negreira Case, and club president Florentino Pérez has used several public platforms to criticise the Catalan club — a campaign that extended to discussions with UEFA over the summer. That legal and political pressure coincides with Barcelona’s domestic dominance: the Blaugrana have won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa across the past two seasons, while Madrid went empty-handed in 2025-26.

Olmo’s own registration saga has been a flashpoint in the broader dispute. Earlier in 2025, La Liga president Javier Tebas publicly questioned whether Olmo would remain eligible to play for Barcelona through the season, arguing that the court injunctions used to keep him registered undermined the league’s financial control framework — a position Real Madrid were reported to have quietly supported.

“It’s normal that they want to make noise somehow,” Olmo told RAC1. “We’ve had two years with many titles, dominating in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa, and it’s normal that they want to destabilize things, but we are focused on our own game and on continuing to win.”

He also addressed Madrid’s summer recruitment drive, which has brought in Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, and Ibrahima Konaté under new manager José Mourinho. “They are looking to improve,” Olmo said, “but we also improve every year” — a pointed suggestion that the structural gap, in his view, remains.

Olmo’s remarks land in a summer that has seen Barcelona embroiled in disputes beyond the Bernabéu. An escalating row with Atlético Madrid over Julián Alvarez prompted Atlético to file a FIFA complaint against Barcelona over that transfer saga, opening yet another legal front for the club. With Clásicos on the horizon and outstanding questions over Barcelona’s financial compliance still unresolved, Olmo is unlikely to be the last Barcelona player asked to respond to the noise coming from across the city.