Coronavirus: Barcelona officially announce wage cuts
Barcelona players will reduce their salaries by 70% and Messi has released a statement explaining why it took so long to announce it.
Lionel Messi has released a statement on behalf of the Barcelona squad as the club announce that they will take a 70% pay cut during the coronavirus crisis.
There was optimism initially that a deal could be struck but things went quiet while other clubs announced pay cuts and reports emerged saying the players had refused the pay cuts. Reports then said the cuts were still on and that it would free up €381 million from their expenses.
Messi has taken to Instagram to announce the pay cuts in conjunction with a statement by the club. Messi addresses the delay and explains why it took them longer than expected to announce the measures.
Messi's official statement in full
"Much has been written and said about the Barcelona first team in relation to the players' salaries during this state of alarm.
Before going any further, we want to make it clear that we were always willing to reduce our salaries because we understand perfectly that we are in an exceptional situation. We, as players, are always here to help the the club when they ask. Sometimes, we have done things on our own initiative during times when we felt it necessary and important.
It didn’t surprise us that inside the club there are some trying to put us under the microscope and pressure us into doing something that we were always clear we would do. In fact, if the agreement came a little late is it because we have been looking for the formula to help the club and also the workers of the club at this difficult time.
For our part, the moment has arrived to say that the cut will be 70% of our wage during the state of alarm. We will also help out the club in order for the workers to be paid 100% of their wages.
If we didn’t speak until now, it’s because the priority was to to find solutions to help the club and to see who the most affected were during this situation.
We don’t want to sign off without giving a massive salute and our strength to all of the cules who are going through a bad moment in these difficult times and those waiting patiently in their homes until this crisis is over. Soon, we will come out on the other side of this and we will all join together."