Barcelona set salary cap on transfers to slash wage bill by MASSIVE €160m
Suraj Radia
- 6 Jun 2022 19:34 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona hope to slash their wage bill by more than a quarter by the end of the summer and have imposed a salary limit of €10 million on any new contracts.
The Spanish side are once again operating through financial difficulty during the transfer window and are aiming to reduce their wages from €560 million to €400m.
President Joan Laporta has set a €10m limit on wages for both new signings and renewals and will try and negotiate salary decreases with top earners to achieve his target.
Deals for players such as Robert Lewandowski, who is the club's top target this summer, have taken the cap into account and the Pole has reportedly agreed a €9m salary.
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The contracts for the club's biggest earners such as Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets already far exceed the €10m cap and they may be asked to reduce their wages by up to 50%.
The impending renewals of Sergi Roberto and Gavi will also adhere to the cap, as well as all the contracts that have been agreed since Laporta became president last year.
One player likely to leave is Ousmane Dembele as the club are reportedly fed up of meetings with the player who is out of contract this summer, although his departure would be a significant relief for the wage bill.
The club have been pushing for the departure of many fringe players such as Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet, all of whom have been transfer listed for some time.
Laporta has already confirmed that 'drastic measures' will be taken should the unwanted players fail to agree moves away from the club, with Barca said to be willing to terminate their contracts.
🚨| Xavi has communicated to FC Barcelona that he wants the following players to be signed this summer:
Kessié, Christensen, Alonso, Azpilicueta, Koundé, Lewandowski, Raphinha & Bernardo Silva.@esport3 [🎖️]— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) June 2, 2022
The club have also reportedly agreed deals to sign Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, while Angel Di Maria is rumoured to be next, however none can be registered until the wage bill is reduced.
It could mean that Barcelona are forced to sell one of their highest earners in Frenkie De Jong, who is strongly being pursued by Manchester United.
