Barcelona forward Raphinha fears the registration fiasco surrounding Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor could affect future signings at the Catalan club.
Olmo and Víctor were both unregistered on Jan. 1 after Barça missed a Dec. 31 deadline to prove they are compliant with LaLiga's financial fair play regulations.
Both players have travelled with Barça to Saudi Arabia for Wednesday's Spanish Supercopa semifinal against Athletic Club in Jeddah, but neither are available for selection.
"I think it could," Raphinha said in a news conference on Tuesday when asked if the situation could force players to turn down the chance of signing for Barça.
"I can't say otherwise because I would be lying and that's not me, I don't like lying or telling stories. The truth is that if I was at another club and seeing the situation Pau and Dani are in, maybe I would think twice if it was best to be here."
Raphinha also had to sweat over his registration when he joined the club in the summer of 2022, with Barça selling club assets, including future earnings on television rights, to register the Brazil international with LaLiga.
"When I came here, before signing, I knew the club's situation," he added. "I knew a there was a percentage chance of being able to play in this shirt, so I waited until the last moment and I don't have any regrets.
"It's a complicated situation for Dani and Pau. As players, we never want to go through these kind of moments. It's hard for them, they don't know if they can play or not.
"It's a situation that's pretty difficult and delicate. We hope those in charge of it can resolve it as quickly as possible so they can play with us again."
LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] released a joint statement on Saturday stating that, while Barça are FFP compliant as of Jan. 3, they cannot register Olmo or Victor for a second time in a season, per RFEF regulations.
Barça are fighting that decision and on Tuesday appealed to the Consejo Superior de Deportes [CSD], the highest sports court in Spain.
While a resolution is not expected to be immediate, Barça have requested that a temporary measure is put in place which would allow the players to continue playing until there is a definitive ruling either way.
"I think everything happens [on Wednesday]," Barça coach Hansi Flick said when asked when a decision could be expected on that temporary measure.
"The only thing we can do now is wait for that and play this match against Athletic, who are a really tough opponent.
"This is the situation. It's not easy for Dani or Pau Víctor. You know more than me that Dani Olmo is an excellent player. We miss him, of course, because he can change matches.
"But we have to accept it. I think that the team also gets closer as one unit. We have to defend and play as one unit and show that we are a team."
Barça could win their first silverware of the season in Saudi Arabia. Victory against Athletic would set up a final against either Real Madrid or Mallorca on Sunday.
And despite a run of just one win in seven LaLiga games before the winter break, Flick saw enough in the defeat against Atlético Madrid in December to make him optimistic heading into the tournament.
"Every team who is here now, they want to win the title," he said. "It's good for every team to win titles. Also for us.
"The last match against Atlético was a really good match. The only thing is we lost it, we are sad about that, but the way we played was really good. We have to take this confidence with us into the match tomorrow."
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha missed Barça's match at the weekend, a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over fourth tier Barbastro, but both trained in Jeddah on Tuesday and Flick says both could start against Athletic as the German eyes his first trophy since taking charge last summer.