Barcelona may be edgeing towards agreeing a new contract for Lionel Messi, but they must turn their attention to a big problem once that ink dries on the new deal.
Joan Laporta has made it his mission to agree a new deal with Messi following his re-election as president towards the end of last season.
That now looks as though it could become a reality with multiple reports, including one from Fabrizio Romano, claiming a new two-year deal is indeed close.
But while in a sporting sense it is a huge boost for Barca to keep their superstar, it leaves them with an uphill battle, financially speaking.
RAC1, via Marca, have reported that Barca must wipe a whopping £200million off their wage bill once the new Messi deal goes through.
It’s reported that Barca’s wage bill is around 110% of their income and Financial Fair Play only allows clubs to be within 70%.
With that in mind, they must whipe a huge number off their wage bill, and they might just struggle to do so.
It’s thought more than one of the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé will need to be shipped out this summer.
Though, with Dembélé now sidelines for four months and Coutinho returning from a long-term injury, getting those players out of the club and without losing astronomical amounts of money could be a huge problem for Laporta and Barca.
