Barcelona willing to accept bids for four key players as debt mounts

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Ruthless at the Camp Nou this summer

“Reduce your wages or we will look to move you on”.

That is the message coming out of the Camp Nou this week according to the front page of usually reliable Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo. With Barcelona in severe economic difficulty and looking to finance a deal for either Sergio Aguero or Memphis Depay this summer, the Catalan outfit are looking to trim their current wage budget.

Barcelona willing to accept bids for four key players

BARCELONA, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 07: Antoine Griezmann of FC Barcelona takes on Guido Rodriguez of Real Betis during the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis at Camp Nou on November 07, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. Sporting stadiums in Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Stalwarts asked to renegotiate or move on

According to the report, Barcelona will be sitting down with both Barcelona legends and more recent signings. The four in question are Gerard Pique (34), Sergio Busquets (32), Sergi Roberto (29) and Antoine Greizmann (30). Between them, they have made over 100 La Liga appearances for Barcelona this season, and have amassed over 1500 appearances across their Camp Nou careers.

Perhaps the most surprising player on that list is Greizmann. Named as one of the club’s seven “untouchable” players just last summer, the Frenchman has returned 12 goals and 7 assists for Barcelona this season, and is only two years into the five-year deal that the Frenchman signed when Barcelona bought him for an astonishing £108 million.

However, with Lionel Messi out of contract in the summer, Barcelona will be doing everything in their power financially to keep the player widely regarded as the best of all time. Rumoured to have demanded £500,000 per week after tax when in talks with Manchester City, Barcelona will need to significantly reduce other players’ wages in order to accommodate the Argentine.

Debt upon debt:

The European Super League was not just wanted by Barcelona, it was desperately needed. The Spanish club are in huge amounts of debt, as outlined in TifoFootball’s video below. This includes €320m transfer payments due for players such as Philippe Coutinho, Malcolm, and Arturo Vidal as well as a wage structure that pays players some €3.3 million per week. This gives the club the highest wage bill in world football.

New President Laporta has managed to renegotiate some of the debt to make the need to pay it back less pressing, yet they are not out of the woods yet. Because of this, it is easy to see why they are looking to offload their highest earners this summer. The bigger question is, will anyone want them?

Laporta has renegotiated part of Barcelona’s debt, also sacked many of Rosell and Bartomeu’s people from the club this week 💯

— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) April 28, 2021