Messi set to misuse his golden privilege despite Bartomeu’s exit

Barcelona need to have an income surplus of 300 million euros by the end of 2020, but Messi is not supporting the cause as reported by a claim.

Barcelona are staring at the prospect of bankruptcy by the end of 2020 and the first step they must take to avoid it is of reducing their massive wage bill. The Blaugrana have some extremely high-earning players at the club, including Lionel Messi, who charges no less than an annual wage of 50 million euros- the world’s highest.

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Carles Tusquets, the interim Barca chief is expected to talk to the first team regarding a second round of wage cuts. The players already agreed to reduce their payments earlier this year amid the coronavirus pandemic when Josep Maria Bartomeu was president. Unfortunately for the filling president, the club’s best paid player could reject it.

Messi, despite being in the final year of his contract and not being happy at the Camp Nou will not be excluded from the planned wage cuts. However, the player has the contractual right to unilaterally refuse another reduction in his salary. With the rest of the squad seemingly prepared to do so, it does not look like the Argentine is leading by example.

Apart from proposing a direct cut, the Catalans’ board has also given the players an extraordinary option of recovering their lost salaries in the future by working as the club’s ambassadors globally following retirement. Given that Messi had called Barca the club of his lifetime not too long ago, his actions do nothing to personify the supposed emotions.

While his club is on the verge of bankruptcy, Messi, as the captain and longest serving member of the first team should be the first one to try and persuade the players to take a cut in his payment. Unfortunately though, it is Gerard Pique who has shown his sky-high leadership and decided to pull Barcelona out of the well.

Do you think Messi must be exempt from the salary cuts and if yes, why?