Barcelona owe their captains €150 million over unpaid salaries – report

Barcelona’s approach of going for a deferral of payments for their captains has backfired and how! As it turns out, the modus operandi has now become more of a problem than being a solution as SPORT says the team owe as much as €150 million to their captains over the next two years.

Although the recent turn of events is a problem caused by Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board, there is little to no solution to the recurring issue. And to say these deferrals are the only predicaments would be a sheer understatement.

In fact, Bartomeu’s board is to be blamed for the delayed Espai Barça project. If only it would have started early, the team could have generated new income soon.

The new management has been a breath of fresh air, to say the very least. They have been working on roping in serious sponsors, but as one can suspect, the rebuild is more of a marathon than being a sprint.

Barcelona are currently operating at a wage bill of €560 million and they need to bring it down to €400 million soon. This can only be done by selling high earners and by renegotiating salaries.

And since the captains have already been hit twice, the upcoming wave will now affect the others. However, the threads are anyway connected, and Sergio Busquets’ recent comment on possible reduction isn’t serving anyone’s purpose. 

“I would like them to tell me, not find out otherwise. It is not the best decision to do it through the press,” said the captain over a possible reduction of wages. 

Despite the comments, it’s important to note that Busquets alone is responsible for an additional €20 million pending wages, while Pique will pocket €50 million over unpaid salary.

The fact that Barcelona need to reduce their wage bill by €160 million this season alone and they owe their captains €150 over the next two years is simply troubling.