Barcelona ‘ask Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba to take a pay cut’ as cash-strapped club explore ways of reducing their wage bill in order to sign Lionel Messi on a new deal
- Barcelona have asked senior members of the squad to take pay cuts next season
- Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba have been asked
- The club hopes their cooperation will reduce Barcelona’s wage bill next term
- Barcelona still need to wipe £156million (€187m) off their existing wage bill
Barcelona have asked senior members of the squad to take pay cuts in a bid to persuade the rest of the team to follow suit.
Barcelona’s sporting director, Mateu Alemany, has met with the agents of Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba to discuss the proposal.
The club hopes their cooperation will help reduce Barcelona’s wage bill as the look to adhere to the financial fair play rules for the 2021-22 campaign.
Sporting director, Mateu Alemany, has asked senior members of the squad to take pay cuts
As it stands, Barcelona need to wipe £156million (€187m) off their existing wage bill. Their limit was £296m (€347m) last year and now it’s £136m (€160m).
Therefore, according to ES Sport, Barcelona have sent a personalised letter to each squad member – outlining the club’s current financial situation.
They hope the letters will highlight the importance of the pay cuts and encourage senior figures within the squad to accept their proposal.
Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba have been asked to take cuts
The Catalans reported a debt of £1billion in February leaving their financial situation in ruins
Previous discussions surrounding pay cuts at Barcelona have not always gone well. The club initially asked the players to agree to a 40 per cent wage cut, but this was rejected by the squad.
As a result, they then offered to extend each player’s contract for the same amount of money. Effectively allowing them to earn the same amount but over a great period of time.
Some players, including as Pique, De Jong, Lenglet and Ter Stegen, agreed to such terms. While other players refused.
Lionel Messi’s (above) has agreed to a new five-year contract with the Catalan giants
The club hope confirmation of Messi’s new five-year deal with a reduced salary will persuade other players to follow suit. However, his contract cannot be signed unless they sell players
Barcelona are eager for the players to accept a pay cut this time round as they look to finalise Lionel Messi’s new contract and register their four new signings.
The club hope confirmation of Messi’s new five-year deal with a reduced salary will persuade other players to follow suit. However, the Argentine’s contract cannot be signed unless they sell players.
As a result, the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and defender Junior Firpo have been linked with exits this summer.
As a result Antoine Griezmann (right) and Philippe Coutinho (centre) could leave this summer
