SAN FRANCISCO, October 31, (THEWILL) – Spanish giants Barcelona may be heading for bankruptcy should they fail to cut €190m off of their wage bill by Thursday, November 5, with salary negotiations already underway.
Finances at the Catalan club took a substantial hit following the consequences of coronavirus pandemic which knocked the tourism industry hard. And tourism makes up a significant part of annual income for the Blaugrana.
Reports available to THEWILL have it that wage bill negotiations began on Friday between lawyers representing the club and players towards an acceptable reduction.
To trim the wage bill by €190m, Barcelona players have to agree to a 30% salary reduction by Thursday next week or the club stands the very real risk of being declared bankrupt by as early as January.
Lionel Messi’s case is a further cause for financial concern. The contract for Barcelona’s prodigy is due to expire next year. Reports from the Italian media claim that his demands before committing to a renewal which are alleged to include the signing of Inter Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez might be too hefty for Barca.
This is compounded by the fact that should Messi extend his contract, it will result in extra financial burden because the club will be obliged to pay him a bonus for reaching the end of his contract.
Carles Tusquets, the Managing Committee president who is currently in charge at the club following last week’s resignation of ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, had this to say about the club’s financial position.
“Our main concern is the club’s finances. The pandemic has affected Barcelona particularly hard. The club depends on tourism and now, all of that income has been lost.
“The situation is not very comfortable, we have to take on the ideas of the previous board to find a way of addressing the problems we are facing.”
THEWILL recalls that when contact sports were suspended during the lockdowns due to the pandemic, Barca’s first team squad agreed to a 70% wage cut. However, when the club again asked the players to take another round of pay cuts with respect to mounting debts, the squad refused.
Barcelona’s economic situation was obvious during the transfer window after they completed a Financial Fair Play motivated swap deal for Juventus’ Miralem Pjanic, with Arthur Melo – six years his junior – going in the opposite direction.
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