Barcelona star Dani Olmo's NBA-inspired goal celebration explained

Dani Olmo’s Barcelona debut proved to be worth the wait on Tuesday when he came off the bench to inspire a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga.

Olmo joined Barca from RB Leipzig on August 9 but the club were unable to register him due to salary cap issues. The Spain international missed the games against Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona managed to make space for Olmo’s salary, partly by allowing Ilkay Gundogan to rejoin Manchester City on a free transfer , and the 26-year-old replaced Ferran Torres at halftime with the Blaugrana 1-0 down at Rayo.

Pedri equalised with an hour played before Olmo netted the winner eight minutes from time. He then unfurled a familiar goal celebration, pointing to an imaginary watch on his wrist as he did when he netted three times during Spain’s triumphant Euro 2024 campaign.

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Speaking to Mundo Deportivo after the match, Olmo explained he has taken the celebration from NBA superstar Damian Lillard’s famous “Dame Time” gesture.

“There is a player that I really like in NBA basketball, Damian Lillard, and he does this celebration when he makes important baskets and I like it a lot and I have taken it for football," Olmo said.

Olmo will hope to make his full debut when Barcelona host Real Valladolid on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s side have won three out of three in LaLiga so far this season.