Barcelona

Barcelona players 'refuse to budge in pay cut row'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 19 October 2020

Barcelona players and staff are not prepared to accept the Catalan club's proposed pay cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.

Barcelona's players are reportedly refusing to budge after signing a burofax signalling their intent to go against a proposed pay cut at Camp Nou.

With the Catalan giants looking to balance the books amid the coronavirus pandemic, Barca are understood to be looking at a restructure of payments to help navigate them through this difficult financial period, but players and staff have formed a negotiation table after rejecting a wage decrease.

All of Barcelona's players apart from Frenkie de Jong, Clement Lenglet and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are reportedly against the proposed measures and are currently embroiled in a battle with the Blaugrana hierarchy over a salary reduction.

The powers-that-be at Barcelona have announced that they are not prepared to give in, though, with a letter obtained by Marca reading: "There is no provision or legal reason that justifies the need to discuss measures based on economic causes at different [negotiating] tables and, on the other hand, doing so would be a contradiction to achieving a certain objective that determines the viability of the club.

"Your remuneration levels are only maintained in a scenario of full economic performance, as you well know, and this happens also at all European football clubs."

Barca kick off their Champions League campaign on Tuesday evening as they welcome Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros to Camp Nou in Group G.