Barcelona in talks to cut player wages by up to 70% during coronavirus lockdown

Barcelona are considering a 70% reduction for all their players as long as the coronavirus lockout lasts for Spain. Players are expected to accept a reduction but cannot reach an agreement.

The purpose of all measures is to apply equally to men's and women's soccer teams, B teams, under 19s, basketball, handball, futsal and hockey players. It will also apply to employees working in teams.

Barcelona is the only La Liga club to admit that it is seeking to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the tournament is committed to supporting its members in whatever measure they have seen. necessary. Other clubs are expected to follow.

Labor law in Spain allows companies to apply temporary measures to fire workers or to cut wages in specific cases, but Barcelona wants to reach a negotiated agreement. Football staff are not resigned to the likelihood of being affected.

The television company, which owns La Liga rights in Spain, said it would apply temporary measures to more than 1,000 employees.

Barcelona held remote meetings last weekend and again on Tuesday. They had a positive response from the club captain. The proposal is to reduce the lockout time as long as the player returns to win 100% of the salary, even if the competition does not return and the tournament is still not over. The Spanish status alert was published on March 11 and should continue until at least April 11.

Most Spanish footballers earn a monthly salary, called sueldo, plus two larger annual payments six months apart called ficha. It is unclear whether the reduction also applies to sueldo or ficha. Four monthly payments are still pending this season.

The economic situation in Barcelona Barcelona is very precarious and it is feared that the club will not be able to meet some of its payments if the season does not end. Of the annual budget of 1.047 billion euros (970 million pounds sterling), 66% was spent on wages last year, against 70% the previous season, but considered too high. The forecast is 61% this season but this goal is now difficult to achieve.

Meanwhile, the English Football Federation is working with the Association of Professional Football Players to identify a solution to financial problems, in particular player wages. A desired result will facilitate clubs in the coming months, football being suspended until at least April 30.

Leeds is one of the many champion clubs to have had discussions with players over pay delays. Leeds football director Victor Orta and general manager Angus Kinnear spoke to the players on Tuesday and, if such a measure is implemented, it is understood that the salary of his manager, Marcelo Bielsa, and his Backroom staff will also be reported. Leeds has the other five pieces of furniture in the house, each of which generates around £ 700,000 in daily income.

The discussion with the PFA is said to originate from a conference call between the championship clubs last week before they talked about potential strategies to ease a player's stress on finances. time without income.

Some clubs operate with much higher payroll taxes than others and, for some, the short-term financial losses created due to lack of income tomorrow will be tolerable. . Birmingham has asked its players to earn more than £ 6,000 a week to get a 50% reduction on their temporary wages and many other second-rate clubs are reportedly considering similar solutions.

MW