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Barcelona registered a thumping victory last night over Ferencvaros to kickstart their UEFA Champions League campaign. Though they won by a resounding 5-1 scoreline, Gerard Pique was red-carded for a foul in the 69th minute. There's a lot more happening at the club as we take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 21 October 2020.
Ronald Koeman urges his players to not switch off
Ronald Koeman must have been delighted with Barcelona's 5-1 thumping of Ferencvaros, but he still called on his players not to switch off during games. Speaking to the press after the game, Koeman said,
“When you win a game, get three points and score five goals, you can be happy,” he said. I think after the break we played 25 really good minutes. But what I liked less, and we have to improve and avoid, are those moments in the game when we switch off.
“If we are capable of playing the whole game at the same intensity and, above all, with that high rhythm with the ball, we are a really good team.”
Spanish Football Association backs Barcelona players in wage cut showdown
The Barcelona playing staff was absent as the club officials held a meeting to enforce a blanket wage cut for all its staff members and the union claims that Barcelona could find themselves in a legal battle if they go ahead with the move.
It is believed that the Barcelona top brass are looking to reduce everyone's wages by 30%. This will be the second round of pay-cuts owing to the Covid pandemic. The players have let the club known through burofax that they will reject any proposal made by the club as they weren't represented at the meeting.
The Spanish football association subsequently released a statement that reads as follows:
“This procedure, in our opinion, suffers from serious formal defects. A negotiating table has been set up to discuss the measures to be adopted and the players are not represented as they have not been eligible in the elections of the committee.
“It is our duty to request that the club reverse this process and initiate, if it is deemed necessary, a dialogue with the professional footballers through the established legal channels.
“Beyond the serious defects regarding the composition of the negotiating table, we ask that the club opt to negotiate these measures in two differentiated processes: One for workers with an ordinary employment contract and another for professional athletes subject to a special employment relationship.
Gerard Pique's decision to agree a new deal causes rift among players
As per Marca, Gerard Pique's teammates are furious with him for agreeing new terms and renewing his contract. Barcelona tweeted after their win against Ferencvaros that they have renewed the contracts of Gerard Pique, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet and Frenkie De Jong.
The club intends to reduce player salaries but the players except for Ter Stegen, Lenglet and De Jong had put up a united front and decided that they will not negotiate with the club about a wage reduction.
Now that Gerard Pique hasn't followed through on his word and agreed a new deal, it has caused a rift in the Barcelona dressing room and it is the last thing they needed before the El Clasico this weekend.
