Lionel Messi on Monday announced that Barcelona’s first-team players will take a massive pay cut. He made the announcement via social media. Messi stated that they will take a 70% pay cut to support the club and its employees due to the Coronavirus crisis.
Earlier, rumours of players not agreeing to salary cut had started doing the rounds which seemingly had annoyed them. The communique issued expressed disappointment of players over the false news. It further clarified their stand in the situation.
“We were surprised that from within the club, there were people who tried to put us under the magnifying glass. But we always were clear that we would do,” the letter said.
Club’s President Josep Maria Bartomeu also rejected all the rumours regarding players not agreeing for the pay cut. He confirmed that there will be a massive wage cut to aide the club’s ravaged income due to the fast-spreading virus.
Bartomeu also confirmed that players have agreed to make further financial contributions to ensure full salaries for all employees.
Coronavirus Menace on players’ transfer value:
The CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post has predicted a drop of up to 28% in players’ transfer value. The COVID-19 virus has disrupted the sport and its business globally.
The report suggests that in the Big Five leagues — Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga, Bundesliga and Ligue1– the transfer value will fall from € 32.7 mn this year to € 23.4 million.
Co-founder of CIES Football Observatory Dr. Raffaele Poli said that the loss of 28% is possible due to the loss of clubs’ income.
Top clubs like Juventus had already reached an agreement with its staff and players over a salary slash. The Old Lady of Turin will cut salaries up to 33% to offload the financial burden.
The report also suggests that the extent of the decrease in the value will vary on several factors. Some of them would be the players’ age, contract duration, and recent performance.
Considering this, Manchester United’s Paul Pogba who missed half of the season due to injury will face a drop of almost halve in his transfer value. His current value is €65M and would fall to €35M, according to the report.
Amongst the clubs, Olympique de Marseille would face the biggest loss of 38% amongst clubs. On the other hand, French Ligue 1 team Stade Brestois will record the lowest of -16%.
