Report: Barcelona captains upset over being ‘victims’ in salary reductions

Having already agreed on a substantial pay cut with veteran defender Gerard Pique, Barcelona are closing in on wage reduction agreements with the other three club captains – Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Sergi Roberto, reports La Vanguardia.

It is no top secret that Barcelona have been in financial turmoil for a while now. However, the extent to which they are mired in difficulties, which was made public by president Joan Laporta recently, was certainly a shock to many.

Continuous efforts are being made to get things under some control, especially on the wage-bill front, which had become utmost necessary as the club were finding it impossible to register new signings.

Pique, one of the longest-serving members of the team and a captain, stepped up and decided to take a significant cut in his salary to help Barcelona in time of need. Following in his footsteps, the other three captains, Busquets, Alba and Roberto, too, have agreed to do so.

As per the report, Busquets and Alba have been asked to forego 40% and 50% of their respective fixed salaries for the current season, while the club have also requested them to renounce bonuses with regard to appearance and Champions League clauses.

Roberto, on the other hand, has been asked to take a 30% cut on his current wages on the final year of his deal, while agreeing to a two-year deal on reduced terms, with very little in terms of variable bonuses.

The trio is happy to help the club out and are not disappointed to have been asked to take the cuts. But each of them are reportedly ‘upset’ because they are being made to do so because of their status as captains, while other players have not been asked to reduce their salaries, at least as of yet.

In other words, the three heavyweights are being the victims of the poor financial circumstances at the club. It is understandable considering that there are squad members who don’t play as frequently or don’t add the same value to the team as they do.

That could, however, be set to change in the imminent future as Barcelona are planning to hold talks with two of their highest-earners, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann over reducing their wages, once the matter with their captains is resolved.