It is no secret that Barcelona’s bloated wage bill has been a major cause of concern for the club in the recent past.
The enormous contracts handed to some players by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu served to inflate the salary bill to such an extent that they could not renew Lionel Messi’s contract last summer without breaching La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules.
The Catalans faced player registration issues last year because of the same and the issue repeated again this summer as well. So, it goes without saying that trimming down the wage bill is an important task on the to-do list of the current administration.
It was recently acknowledged by Barça’s economic vice-president Eduard Romeu, with La Liga president Javier Tebas also suggested that the Catalan giants will need to make cuts to their wage bill before next season as they would have no economic levers to rely on.
Now, SPORT has come up with a report regarding Barcelona’s plans to cut down on their wages. The publication claims that the La Liga behemoths are currently shelling out around a total of €610 million on player wages.
And the plan for the club is to bring down that figure ideally to somewhere around €420-450 million over the next two years.
It will not be straightforward, but the Blaugrana are hoping that the potential exits of some, if not all, of their club captains, could help achieve their target.
Sergio Busquets, who is one of the highest-earners in La Liga, is out of contract at the end of the season and is being tipped to leave for the MLS. Sergi Roberto, too, sees his contract run out at the end of the season and is unlikely to be handed a renewal.
There are question marks hanging over the futures of Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba as well, due to their reduced roles in the side this term. Their potential exits at the end of the season would free up a large chunk of salary mass at Barcelona.
It must be noted that the Catalans intend to make some big-name acquisitions during that time as well, such as Bernardo Silva, who will command a significant salary.
So, it becomes important that Barça get rid of their highest-earning players who are no longer part of Xavi’s plans, or at least discuss possible salary reductions with those stars.
Ultimately, the idea is for the club to have a wage bill of €450 million maximum, which the Catalans believe would be ideal for them to stay financially healthy and be competitive in the market and on the pitch.