Tension in Barcelona as Messi, others fail to agree pay cuts

Barcelona have been plunged into chaos after failing to agree pay cuts with stars including Lionel Messi.

The LaLiga giants are in a desperate bid to slash £170million off their budget.

Barca have been hit hard financially by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and have asked first-team players to take a 30% pay cut to stave off the threat of bankruptcy.

But, after ‘several days of intense meetings’, the club has failed to strike a deal with its players, they announced on Wednesday.

They said in a statement: “Today, November 11, after several days of intense meetings, and the negotiation was exhausted, the parties have ended the consultation period, without reaching an agreement.”

As a result, the initial deadline for talks has been put back to November 23.

Players’ wages accounted for around 61% of the club’s pre-Covid revenue of £940million, with Messi the highest earner on roughly £500,000-a-week.