The struggles at Barcelona continue, with the Catalan government now busying themselves with regards to club affairs by suggesting that the entire squad take a pay cut.
The advice, from the Catalan Minister for Economy, Jaume Giro, appears to be a warning that if pay cuts were not to be agreed to by the playing staff, the club could fall out of the hands of its socio members.
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“The players need to do the right thing. If they love the club, they should agree to a wage cut,” he told RAC1, cited by Sport.
“They’ve been paid astonishing amounts of money in the past, even with painful defeats in European competitions, but now they need to make a personal sacrifice for Barça.
“Even after the cut, they’ll still earn more than someone with four university degrees who speaks three different languages.
“The wage bill that Laporta is faced with was not down to him. No company can operate in this way. As things stand, Barça spends 70% of its budget on player wages, and this is completely unsustainable.
“There are many more expenses, besides salaries and amortisations. From what I’ve read, the current board is going to do everything possible to bring down the wage bill.
“I am confident that they will do it, because it is one of the club’s objectives alongside refinancing its debt.
“The club needs to be up front with the members. They will understand.
“It won’t be possible to have the best paid players in Europe for a while, because the most important thing is to ensure that the club remains in the hands of its ‘socios’, which is the essence of Barca.”
It’s clear that the situation is getting more perilous by the day, with Ronald Koeman not really knowing, or being in control of, which players he’ll have available for pre-season and the start of the 2021/22 La Liga campaign proper.
President, Joan Laporta, appears to be doing his upmost to alleviate the situation, whilst still having enough finances in reserve to be able to offer Lionel Messi a final playing contract with the club.
But will that be enough?