Barcelona likely to force unilateral salary reduction after no agreement with players

Spanish giants Barcelona suffered heavy financial losses amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, forcing them to introduce a wage cut for the first-team players. Barcelona have the highest wage bill in Europe and are still unable to cope with their struggling finances this season. The club had urged the players to agree to another round of wage cuts but the players opposed the same, following which the club may impose a wage cut unilaterally. Also Read | Barcelona overpaid €10m to Neymar and are now demanding money back, suggests report Barcelona finances severely hit, club edging towards bankruptcy Barcelona appealed to the first team players during Josep Maria Bartomeu's presidency to agree to another round of pay cuts beginning next year. The players stood vehemently against the Barcelona wage cut proposal, expressing their dissatisfaction through a letter addressed to the club hierarchy. ❗️ÚLTIMA HORA: S’han tancat sense acord les negociacions per la rebaixa salarial dels futbolistes del Barça però les parts es dónen 10 dies per prendre una decisió. No hi hauran més negociacions: s’emplacen a dilluns 23. — El Barça juga a RAC1 (@FCBRAC1) November 11, 2020 It was believed Bartomeu's resignation a fortnight ago could bring about some key changes in the administration and the Barcelona wage cut proposal could be withdrawn. However, the club hierarchy is still keen on the idea in an attempt to cut down on the Barcelona wage bill. The club's debt had surged from €217m in June 2019 to €488m in June 2020, as per Marca. Also Read | Barcelona transfer news: January move for Memphis Depay ruled out by Lyon president Barcelona unilateral salary deduction on the cards? To this extent, the Camp Nou outfit are pondering the idea of a unilateral wage reduction if the players do not agree to the proposals. A report by Catalan radio station RAC1 suggests that top officials believe the wage cut is the sole measure to cut down on the issue surrounding Barcelona's finances. The report follows an earlier revelation that Barcelona had extended the deadline to impose the wage cut by a week, or until November 23 after failing to reach an amicable agreement. The deadline has now been pushed, although there's still no clarity on the process. Also Read | Griezmann's ex-agent SLAMS Messi and Barcelona as Frenchman's struggles continue Conflicting views between club and players The club and the players have conflicting views on two points. Firstly, the players believe the wage cuts should not be the same for every player and instead, there should be a tier system. Secondly, the players are yet to understand why the B team players of the club will be impacted by the wage cuts, while no such measure has been thought about for the basketball team. Also Read | Lionel Messi has scored more free-kick goals than Juventus, Real Madrid in last 10 seasons Image courtesy: AP

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Barcelona likely to force unilateral salary reduction after no agreement with players

Barcelona are likely to move for a unilateral salary reduction after the first-team players did not agree to another round of pay cuts.

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