Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has insisted that his Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto will follow in his footsteps by taking a substantial pay cut to ease the club’s financial woes.
Pique, who is one of the four club captains, has already accepted a pay cut and is expecting the others to sacrifice to help the club register more players. According to reports, Pique’s gesture of taking a pay cut allowed Barcelona to register Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia, who started in Barca’s win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
With Sergio Aguero yet to be registered due to La Liga tight salary cap policy, Barcelona need Alba, Busquets and Sergi Roberto also to accept a reduction in their salaries. The trio are the top earners in the club. If they take a pay cut, they could make room for new players.
Speaking on his decision to take a pay cut, Pique is quoted as saying;
‘It’s what had to be done. The other captains will do the same soon. Because of a timing issue, I had to be the first one to register the players. The captains have always intended to make the adjustments needed by the club. We are proud of this decision.
Reports emerged Alba had refused to take a pay cut, which led to him being jeered by a section of the fans on Sunday. But Pique has rubbished those claims insisting that there has been a misunderstanding.
‘Sometimes there are misunderstandings,’ he said. ‘After last season ended, the captains talked, and we were on the same page to try to reach a deal with the club.
Meanwhile, left-back Alba said it was painful to hear false claims about his commitment to Barcelona. He also rubbished claims that the club couldn’t keep Messi because other players refused to accept a reduction in their salaries.
‘I’ve always been willing to help the club,’ he said.
‘No one should doubt me. I’ve been here for 10 years and eight more in the youth squads. This is my home, the club of my life, and I’ll always help it.’
Barcelona recently lost club icon Lionel Messi because they couldn’t give him a new contract while complying with La Liga’s strict financial fair play regulations.
