Barcelona refused Pique’s fourth lever demand
FT Desk
- 8 Sep 2022 07:45 CDT
- 3 min read
Barcelona have had a summer of many complicated contract negotiations such as that of Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong, and another one was that of Gerard Pique.
The club owe Pique a significant sum in deferred wages after the defender continuously took reductions to help the Blaugrana through their financial troubles over the last few years.
Pique’s constant willingness to take a reduction has helped the club in signing players and registering them in accordance with La Liga rules.
Now, a report from Diari ARA suggests that Pique had an ambitious clause in mind when negotiating a new wage reduction, but it was immediately refused by the club.
Related articles
Laporta refused Pique suggestion
Pique attempted to make the reduction conditional on him taking over the rights of Barca Studios, the club’s media arm, which was founded in 2021.
Barca Studios serves as a key revenue generator for the club, and its sale served as an economic lever this year which helped the club register Jules Kounde, who signed on from Sevilla.
Pique wanted a percentage of the rights to himself, in return for taking a salary cut, but the move didn’t work out as it was immediately refused by Joan Laporta, the Barcelona President.
🚨| Pique, Pjanic and Memphis are the only players in Barcelona who have NOT yet received minutes in the league. #fcblive pic.twitter.com/owtea66PC0
— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) September 5, 2022
Laporta felt such a move would break the club’s ethical code, as a player is barred from using his position to obtain a business advantage, and the club wanted to take the high ground in this scenario.
Barcelona still have to pay Pique a huge chunk of his wages and need to find a way to quickly get it done, but the player is in no rush as he wishes to find the best possible solution for all parties involved.
Barcelona also want other players to take a pay cut to help with their situation, including Frenkie de Jong, who they wished to sell in the summer transfer window.
