A significant crisis looms within the corridors of FC Barcelona due to the renewal of Lionel Messi's contract, which expires in three days, allowing him to move to any club for the new season. Club president Joan Laporta faces a challenge to reduce the total salaries by 200 million euros to meet the requirements of the Spanish Football League. Spanish media reports indicate that Barcelona will incur a hefty cost to renew the Argentine star Lionel Messi's contract to prevent him from leaving this summer on a free transfer.
Catalan network "RAC 1" stated that the push for reductions is a result of Messi's contract renewal, which is nearly finalized and will ensure the "Blaugrana" retains the Argentine star for two more years before he likely tries his luck at Inter Miami in the U.S. The moment Barcelona announces Messi's contract renewal, they will begin to contemplate reducing the player wage bill by 200 million euros.
Furthermore, the report mentioned that Barcelona currently pays 110% of its annual revenue in salaries to players and staff, while the permissible rate to comply with financial fair play rules is only 70%. This is mainly due to losses the club suffered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to all Spanish clubs.
Spanish newspaper "Marca" reported that Messi's new contract will include a substantial salary and numerous financial benefits, prompting the Barcelona management to cut about 200 million euros from the team's total player salaries.
Barcelona's management has two options for salary reduction: the first is to cut a certain percentage from all players' wages, as they did in the past two seasons, and the second is to offload players who have exorbitant salaries but do not contribute significantly, such as Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti. More important players like Ousmane Dembélé and Sergi Roberto, and Antoine Griezmann could also be affected.
The Barcelona management is compiling a list of players who could be transferred to achieve the goal of reducing 200 million euros in salaries and required allocations, but it seems none of the players are on the verge of leaving, as it is currently very difficult to find a club that can afford their wages.
The Catalan club has given the green light to negotiate with other clubs for players like Samuel Umtiti, Antoine Griezmann, Martin Braithwaite, Junior Firpo, and Jordi Alba. However, finding new destinations for these players is difficult, and it will be even more challenging for the injured Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé.
In 2019, Barcelona topped the salary cap in La Liga with 671 million euros, but a sharp decline in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and poor economic management led to a 43% reduction in 2020, bringing the figure down to 383 million euros.
