FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has been clear with his aim this summer. He has made it very clear that at the moment, the main priority for him is to stabilize the club’s wage bill and he has managed to do it to some extent.
However, in doing so, FC Barcelona have had to let go of the legendary Lionel Messi. With Messi’s departure, the wage bill has also been significantly reduced. Moreover, the loan deal of Antoine Griezmann to Atletico Madrid also means the club will save further.
But in this process of trying to reduce the wages, FC Barcelona have not kept in mind the footballing talent at the club. In a bid to balance the books, the squad still looks unstable. They’ve boosted the attack with Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Luuk De Jong, but the defence is still a worry.
The credit should be given where it’s due, Laporta has managed to get their €565 million wage bill down to €420 million. That’s a reduction of €145 million or near about 30% of the total expenditure. Furthermore, Miralem Pjanic has also left the club to join Besiktas in the last moments of the transfer window to relieve them of his high fees.
“Bartomeu’s letter is full of lies. It obeys an effort to justify management that is unjustifiable and is an exercise in despair. Our salaries represent 103% of the club’s total income. That’s 20% to 25% more than our competitors. We have found ourselves in a difficult situation to renegotiate the players’ contracts,” Laporta had said when he joined.