Barcelona not planning on discussing wage cuts or deferrals with two club captains

Barcelona are not planning on discussing any wage cuts or deferrals with club captains Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Frenkie de Jong at this point in time, reports ARA.

The Catalan giants are in need of lowering their salary mass due to the Financial Fair Play situation, but are not planning on reducing or deferring the wages of their two captains.

De Jong: From transferrable to untouchable

From being linked with a summer exit a year ago to becoming the club captain, de Jong has seen a tremendous turnaround of fortunes at FC Barcelona.

Indeed, the 26-year-old was one of the players who the club wanted to force out last summer and invest the proceeds into signing Bernardo Silva.

However, the midfielder put his foot down and refused to leave.

There were pressure tactics employed, like playing him at centre-back in pre-season and allegedly leaking his contract details, but de Jong did not move from his position.

Over the course of the campaign, he grew into a key player for Xavi and is now one of the captains.

Ter Stegen: A rock at the back

Ter Stegen, too, had his fair share of detractors not long ago and his performances and his place in the team was questioned.

However, the German international has silenced all those critics and done so in style, by keeping the most number of clean sheets in La Liga last season and winning the Zamora Trophy.

Ter Stegen was named the fourth captain after Gerard Pique’s retirement last year and is now the second captain of the club behind Sergi Roberto.

How much will De Jong and Ter Stegen earn this season?

Both De Jong and Ter Stegen signed new bumper deals during the Josep Maria Bartomeu era due to which they are among the highest-earners at the club currently.

As per the aforementioned report from ARA, De Jong will earn close to €30 million in the upcoming season while Ter Stegen stands to pocket around €20 million.

Given the club’s economic condition, reducing their salaries would certainly be of great help, but Barcelona are not planning to undertake any such measures at this point.

There had been reports suggesting that talks might already be taking place with Ter Stegen regarding a deferral, but no discussions have been scheduled for now.