La Liga warns FC Barcelona to lower their wage bill or risk losing Lionel Messi’s contract
La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned FC Barcelona this Monday to lower their wage bills else they might end up losing losing Messi. FC Barcelona must cut wages to get under the league’s imposed salary cap. La Liga’s new limit for the 2020-21 season was 382.7M euros. Barca’s wage bill has grown since the end of the season, with the signings of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay, Emerson Royal.
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“Barcelona have exceeded their wage cap”, Tebas said on Monday.
“I hope they can keep Messi, but to do so, they will have to make cuts elsewhere”. Tebas has told Barca to offload players to reduce their wage bill.
La Liga could technically prevent them from registering Messi’s new contract or refrain them from signing players this summer if they don’t follow certain financial regulations.
In 2019-20 before the Covid-19 pandemic FC Barcelona had the highest cap in Laliga at 671M euros. Laliga’s new limit for the upcoming season is 382.7M euros.
This means that Barcelona might be restricted from signing new contracts if they don’t make a cut in their wage bill. Lionel Messi’s contract with the Catalans expires in a weeks’ time- June 30. The 33-year-old Argentina has not made any decision to extend his contract at the club. But FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta is confident on renewing the player’s contract.
“I would like Messi to tell us ‘Yes’ as soon as possible,” Laporta said.
“He would help us in every way.”
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FC Barcelona are taking a loan to ease their situation
On Sunday, the board members of Barca approved a 525m euros loan from Goldman Sachs to help ease the club through a tough period financially. Laporta said the money would not be used on signings, but to pay outstanding debts such as player salaries, transfer fee instalments and money owed to the tax office. The loan can be repaid over 15 years and has a 3% interest rate.
Messi signed for FC Barcelona in the year 2000. He made his debut in 2004 at the age of 16. Messi most recently signed a four-year deal with the club in 2017. The contract was worth over €500m including his annual wage, signing on fees and bonuses. Messi has scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona, which has won four UEFA Champions League titles, ten Laliga titles & seven Copa Del Reys.
The Argentina captain, who turns 34 on Thursday, has also scored 73 goals for his national team. The 33-year-old was Barcelona’s leading goal scorer last season finding the net 38 times & also setting up 14 goals for his team across all competitions. Inspite of his deliberate efforts, Barca finished third in the league with 79 points, just behind their arch rivals Real Madrid.
Messi in the past has received offers from PSG & Manchester City- the only two club in the world that can afford the players wages.
Barca have listed a couple of players whom they plan to offload this summer. The list includes the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Roberto, Martin Braithwaite, Miralem Pjanic and more.
FC Barcelona are having a impressive time in the transfer market signing three players for free- Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay.
