Barcelona in disarray as board FAIL to agree pay-cuts with first team stars

Barcelona‘s desperate attempts to shave £170million off their budget have been frustrated after the board failed to agree pay-cuts with players. 

The LaLiga side are seeking to slash first team wages by 30 per cent to stave off fears of bankruptcy but have made no progress with Lionel Messi and Co despite ‘several days of intense meetings’, they revealed on Wednesday.

A statement read: ‘Today, November 11, after several days of intense meetings, and the negotiation was exhausted, the parties have ended the consultation period, without reaching an agreement.’ 

Barcelona have failed in their attempts to agree wage cuts with their first team players

 Lionel Messi is the club’s highest earner on a deal worth around £500,000 a week

Barcelona have been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic and have seen their finances take a major hit.

Players’ wages ate up around 61 per cent of the club’s £940m revenue before the Covid-19 crisis, with captain Messi the current highest earner at the club as he pockets around £500,000 per week (£26m per year).

The statement detailed that while current negotiations have been ‘exhausted’, both sides have agreed an extension to the deadline, running until November 23. 

‘Given that the negotiating process has shown the sincere and firm will of the parties to understand, including the formula for full recovery of wages to be postponed, and many of the difficulties that seemed days ago have been overcome,’ the statement continued. 

‘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.’ 

Of the current Barcelona squad, only four players have so far agreed to revised terms – Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong, Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique. 

Antoine Griezmann is the next highest earner behind Messi on wages of £294,000 per week (£15.3m per year), while Philippe Coutinho is the next highest yet to agree a salary cut, on £180,000 per week (£9.4m per year).  

President of the Spanish players union (AFE) David Aganzo travelled to Barcelona to meet with the first-team and interim president Carles Tusquets to discuss the situation. 

Frenkie De Jong (left) and Gerard Pique are two of four players to have agreed to pay deferrals

The playing squad are said to be sensitive to the club’s cash-flow problem, and there is confidence that an agreement will be reached even with the process ‘exhausted’ at this stage.

Barca’s £940m income has dropped to £746m amid the pandemic, and salaries will become over 80 per cent of total revenue if…