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Barcelona have said that they have failed in their attempts to negotiate new pay-cuts with their players.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the finances of football clubs, Barcelona being no exception, who have been trying to mitigate the losses in revenue due to the absence of fans in stadiums.
One of the ways clubs looked to reduce their losses was by negotiating salary cuts with their players. While several sides across the continent were able to make headway with their players in this regard, it appears that Barcelona have hit an impasse
Reports had earlier surfaced in March that Barcelona players had agreed a 70% pay cut, but the club has recently come out to clarify that they were unsuccessful in negotiations with their players.
A statement released by Barcelona in this regard read:
''After several days of intense meetings, the negotiations were exhausted, and the parties have ended the consultation period without reaching an agreement. In this situation, it is up to the Management Board to take decisions to resolve the serious financial problem arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, which causes a reduction in club income of more than €300m (£269m) for the 2020-21 season, and which requires a salary adjustment of €191m (£171m)."
The statement further read:
"The parties have agreed to grant themselves a deadline of November 23 in order to reflect and decide whether the approaches that have remained on the table can still be accepted."
It is believed that the quartet of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, Frenkie de Jong and Clement Lenglet were the only players willing to accept the terms for a cut in their salaries.
Barcelona face issues both on and off the field
The stalemate in discussions for player salary cuts is just the latest in a long line of negative issues to have afflicted the Catalan giants in recent months.
In 2019-20, Barcelona endured a trophyless season for the first time in more than a decade following an embarrassing 2-7 capitulation against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
This summer, Barcelona were rocked by the news of talisman and captain Lionel Messi wanting to leave the club, and the new season has hardly gone to plan for the Blaugrana.
Mounting pressure led to the resignation of president Josep Maria Bartomeu (the second consecutive Barcelona president to step down), with results on the field being hardly impressive under new manager Ronald Koeman.
Despite a change in management, the Catalan giants are still struggling for consistency, with Messi himself a long way off his usually staggering standards.
After nine matchdays in La Liga, Barcelona find themselves in eighth spot on the table, albeit with two games in hand, although they have gotten off to a 100% start in the Champions League.
