La Liga Giants Facing Serious Financial Problem; Wage Cut Talks End In Impasse

FC Barcelona is struggling financially and has been forced to discuss with players about salary reductions.

However, it appears that the talks were unable to resolve anything, leaving the Catalan giants in a predicament.

Barca is facing a serious financial problem, a result of the ongoing pandemic. The club has suffered a big loss in revenues roughly estimate to be around €300 million ($350 million) for the 2020-21 season.

Hence, Barcelona has been forced to adjust salaries to about €191 million ($224 million), Goal reported.

Though Barca and players do not have much choice, the discussions ended with no agreement. The front office may be forced to make the unpopular decision to settle the financial turmoil, something that may or may not sit well with the players.

The interim board led by Carles Tusquets laid down the proposal to the people present during the discussion, Marca reported.

“The negotiating process has revealed the sincere desire of all parties to come to an understanding, including the process of reimbursing wages that must be postponed in the short-term. We have overcome things that previously seemed insurmountable,” the statement read.

“All parties have agreed to give each other until November 23 to reflect and decide whether the proposals that remain on the table are acceptable.”

There are several top earners for Barca that could see a pay cut. That includes Lionel Messi who could see his earnings cut by as much as 30 percent. He is among the players to have a huge wage bill.

Others who enjoyed that as well before included Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal. All three players are no longer at Camp Nou.

Though the wage cuts seem imminent, complicating matters is that players have different cases. That encompasses the number of years remaining in the current deal of the players. It is practically the same one proposed by Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board.

The interim board will meet on Thursday anew to deliberate on the meetings held this week. Right now outside the pandemic, the salary issue is the most urgent issue that needs addressing.