"Earning as if I just came from the B team" - Senior Barcelona star opens up on drastic salary reduction 

Barcelona vice-captain Sergi Roberto has opened up about the drastic salary cut he has taken to help the club and stated that he has no qualms about it.

The 30-year-old signed a one-year extension in the summer to remain with the Blaugrana. With the club going through financial turmoil, it was widely reported that Roberto took a significant pay cut to extend his stay at Camp Nou.

Speaking to RAC1, Roberto confirmed the speculation, revealing that he was earning as little as a newly promoted player did.

“Right now I am earning as if I just came from the B team, but I do it with pride because I want to be here,” Roberto said.

“I wanted to stay here and now I’m enjoying it. For me the economic side is not important. Now what I wanted was to enjoy things. One year? Well, then just a year. I wanted to be physically fit again and enjoy myself again,” he added.

Roberto also said that he did not take a pay cut just because his contract was expiring and revealed that he was not the only one to reduce his wages.

“I did not have to reduce my salary because my contract ended. We had to negotiate a new one. The captains have also made an [economic] effort. Two years ago we were the only ones who did it. We made the effort but we didn’t want to say anything,” he stated.

According to multiple reports, the recently-retired Gerard Pique, as well as Sergio Busquets, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Samuel Umtiti all took pay cuts in 2022.

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Eric Garcia admits missing Barcelona legend Gerard Pique

Barcelona superstar Gerard Pique announced his retirement out of the blue when club football paused for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November. Pique played his last game in a 2-0 win over Almeria at Camp Nou on November 5.

The 35-year-old's final career match saw him receive a straight red card in a 2-1 win against Osasuna. The former Spain international, who was not even involved in the action on the pitch, was sent off at half-time following a verbal altercation with the match official.

Eric Garcia, who played alongside the Barcelona great, admitted that he missed the intelligent center-back. Speaking to Marca, he said:

"He is missed. He is a different player and person. The ease he has of being joking and in three minutes making a great game. He is the only one I see capable of doing this. On the field he changes his chip very quickly. I have learned from Gerard that he is intelligent, inside and out. Inside he is one of those people who sees everything a second before.”

Pique played 616 games for Barcelona across competitions, scoring 53 times and winning 13 assists. He won eight La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies with Barca, amongst other honors.