Barcelona: President Bartomeu and players in standoff over wage cuts

The players of Barcelona and club president Josep Maria Bartomeu are at a standoff over attempts to cut their salaries by 30 percent.

Catalan radio station RAC1’s report is highlighted in Diario Sport, which claims club supremo Bartomeu is attempting to push on with dialogue with the players to come to an agreement – although the players of the first-team and B side are opposed.

On Friday, Catalan radio station RAC1 reported how the squad had sent a burofax to the club to outline their formal opposition to such plans, which could prove decisive in any future legal discussions that could develop between the separate parties.

The club are increasingly concerned about their financial future and believe such pay cuts are necessary, although many players are unhappy.

A report in Cadena Ser last week claimed that the Blaugrana were hopeful of cutting the salaries of all their employees by 30 percent in order to take action against their increasingly concerning financial situation.

The previous week, it was reported that the club’s players could unilaterally terminate their first-team contracts in 2021 if wage cuts were imposed on them without their full contractual agreement.

That followed on from the club accounts showing that Barcelona’s debt had more than doubled during the 2019-20 campaign amid extremely worrying financial results.

The club’s financial figures, as outlined by Marca, show that the debt at the club has risen from €217m in June 2019 to €488m in June 2020.

The news follows that the Blaugrana recorded financial losses totalling €97m for the campaign, in figures which appear to be heavily influenced by the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The reduction is not necessarily for the players, it is possible that there will be mixed formulas for different,” Moix explained to radio station RAC1 last week, via Diario Sport.

“Contracts can be adapted following sporting criteria, proportionality criteria and sporting circumstances.

“This is an exceptional situation and we have to look for solutions in the club to balance the budget in the best possible way

“Avoiding job losses in the future is what we must prioritise.”

Whilst the club’s first-team squad has been slimmed down this year, with a reported €80m off the wage bill, there is still a worrying financial outlook for the club.

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