Barcelona president Joan Laporta will ask Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho to take pay cuts as the club’s financial crisis continues.
Barça’s problems have been well documented in recent weeks, culminating in Lionel Messi’s departure to Paris Saint-Germain after the club could not agree on new terms in accordance with La Liga’s pay threshold rules.
Gerard Pique took a huge pay cut last week so that Barcelona could register Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia ahead of the 2021/22 season, but Sport reports that he will not be the only one asked to do so.
The club is about to reach a similar agreement with Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto – Barcelona’s three captains. When these deals are completed, Laporta will focus on negotiating wage cuts with Griezmann and Coutinho, who are now Barça’s two highest earners.
The Frenchman has already signaled that he is willing to make a cut, even though official talks have not been held with the club yet. Coutinho is in a similar boat, and his current high salary is believed to put potential buyers out of the transfer window, so he will have to agree to a cut whether he stays or leaves this month.
Laporta hopes to implement a “more logical” salary structure at the club in light of the crisis, and most first-team players may be asked to cut back so that their salaries fall in line with current market interest rates. This means that new acquisitions Depay, Garcia, Sergio Aguero and Emerson Royal do not have to negotiate new deals.
Barcelona started their season on Sunday with a 4-2 victory at home against Real Sociedad, with a stay from Martin Braithwaite and goals from Pique and Roberto that helped them to three points on La Liga’s opening weekend.
