Time is not on the side of Barcelona board as they look to avoid financial meltdown with the club on the verge of bankruptcy, according to reports in Spain.
The Spanish giants have until the end of Wednesday to reach an agreement with their stars over wage cuts or face a chaotic Thursday to scramble a solution.
Barca have a staggering wage bill that is crippling the club – one that they are in urgent need of slashing by around £171million.
Lionel Messi is the current highest earner at the club – with the Argentine superstar pocketing around £500,000-a-week.
Next is Antoine Griezmann on £294,000-a-week.
A deadline to do so has been set for Thursday but the club’s board are holding a meeting with the first-team and management on Wednesday to try and come to an agreement.
One solution the board hopes players do accept is that they agree to receive the same salaries but over a longer period of time.
This would lessen the club’s financial burden in the short-term but could come back to bite them in the long-term.
Of the current Barcelona squad, only four players have so far agreed to this – with those being Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie De Jong, Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique.
Barca hope to do this across the whole playing squad though.
It would not mean players have their salaries lowered, but rather their payments would be restructured and paid in smaller instalments to help cash flow.
However, if this can’t be agreed then the final option would see the club allowing players to be ambassadors after retiring and collecting their owed money then.
Again, this could pose a financial catastrophe for Barca in the long-term as nobody can predict the true financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic plus any future monetary meltdowns.
If Barcelona’s playing staff do not agree to either proposal then the board would be forced into unilaterally reducing their income.
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