Barcelona B ex-players claim €40,000 in unpaid bonuses
Four former La Masia graduates are taking their case to the AFE player's union as cash-strapped Barça seek legal recourse not to pay up.
According to Catalan media outlet Mundo Deportivo, four former Barcelona B players are seeking €40,000 in unpaid bonuses from the cash-strapped Camp Nou coffers. The claim made by Sergi Puig, Guillem Jaime, Kike Saverio and Chumi stems from Barça B’s participation in the Liga Smartbank Segunda B promotion playoffs last season, where the reserve side lost to Sabadell in the final round of matches.
Barcelona refusing to pay on grounds of contract expiry
Barcelona, who are in dire financial straits and embroiled in an institutional crisis surrounding the president of Josep Maria Bartomeu, who faces a vote of no confidence over his running of the club, have leant on a literal reading of the players’ contracts to avoid having to loosen the purse strings. The bonuses of €10,000 per player were payable for appearing in the playoffs, which started in July as a result of the coronavirus delayed season in Spain. As Puig, Jaime, Saverio and Chumi were out of contract as of 30 June and did not play in the playoff phase of the season, Barça are refusing to pay the bonses.
Other players who were still under contract but did not make an appearance in the playoffs, Álex Collado, Ferran Sarsanedas and Abe, still received their €10,000 bonus.
The four players have taken their case to the AFE players’ union.