Barcelona president determined to end ‘catastrophic wages’ for heavyweights

Given the hardships that Barcelona have had to endure due to their bloated wage bill over, president Joan Laporta is planning out a strategy to bring an end to this by introducing new measures, reports Diario AS.

Under the previous president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Barcelona handed out lucrative contracts to players, leading to the club’s wage bill rising to a massive €560 million per year, making the Catalans’ squad the most expensive in the world.

As a result, Barcelona have been penalised under Financial Fair Play, with their salary limit set at -€144 million. So unless the club find ways to pump funds into the club, signing and registering new players becomes impossible.

And Laporta is now planning to take measures to put an end to this by introducing a salary cap of €10 million per year for players who will be signing for Barça or renewing their deals with the club moving forward.

It has seen Barça’s priority transfer target for the summer, Robert Lewandowski, agree to a contract worth €9 million per year with the Catalans. Other targets like Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger demanded €17 million and €12 million per year, leading to Barça not pursuing their signings.

As for players at the club who are already on wages beyond the €10 million cut-off, such as club captains Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and midfield mainstay Frenkie de Jong, Laporta is ready to impose another salary cut, as high as up to 50% in some cases.

It is claimed that Pique and de Jong in particular are in the sights of the management due to the ‘catastrophic wages’. The veteran defender has been struggling with a chronic adductor injury and his place in the squad is uncertain for next season.

De Jong, on the other hand, is on a rising contract which would see him earn around €13 million next season. So, Barcelona will look to enforce pay cuts on the duo to bring their pay packet under the €10 million limit.

The Catalans plan to reduce the burden on the wage bill by at least €160 million by employing the strategy.

As per the new plan, the most important players in the squad would earn somewhere between €6-8 million, the squad regulars could pocket €4-5 million while youngsters and fringe players would take home €2-3 million.