LaLiga President explains in detail issue with Messi’s Barca contract

LaLiga president Javier Tebas has explained that Barcelona will fall under a “special procedure” next season as a result of being over the league’s wage cap.

Tebas revealed last week that Barcelona had exceeded their wage cap, and would need to make cuts in order to extend Lionel Messi‘s contract.

He added that the club must “restructure their debt”, and said that of the €700 million that clubs have lost across LaLiga, half of that figure has been recorded by Barca.

Messi’s current deal expires at the end of this month, and although he is reportedly close to agreeing an extension, it has yet to be confirmed.

Tebas’s latest comments on Barca finances

Now, Tebas has detailed the “special procedure” written in the LaLiga rules that Barca fall under.

Tebas told El Transistor (via Football Espana): “We have a special procedure for when a club goes over its salary established by LaLiga, where clubs can only include players who represent 25% of the savings.

“If Barca sell a player for €100 million, they can only spend €25 million.

“If Barca receives €10 million on a sale, they can only spend €2.5 million on a new signing.

“If Barcelona want to bring in a player who costs them €25 million per season in salary, they must earn, either by transfer or by a salary reduction, €100 million.”

The Spanish giants have made several moves in the transfer market this summer.

They have brought in Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia – all on free transfers.

Ronald Koeman’s side also offered a contract to outgoing Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, but the Dutchman chose to sign for Paris Saint-Germain instead.

But Barca seemingly must now focus their attentions on reducing the size of their squad.

Midfielder Philippe Coutinho – who was signed for a reported fee of €160m back in 2018 – has been linked with a host of clubs, including Leicester, Arsenal and AC Milan.

Defender Junior Firpo is in talks with Leeds, according to the Daily Mail.

There have also been rumours about the futures of Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Miralem Pjanic as well.

Last summer, Barca sold Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez for free, and Ivan Rakitic moved to Sevilla for a reported €1.5m.

Tebas sent a warning to Barcelona about the consequences of not selling an important member of their side.

He said: “They have to reduce salaries in the squad consistently or produce fees from sold players. Publicly, I cannot tell of the plan Barcelona have.

“They know that if they don’t sell an important player of the current squad that they have players with contracts in force that they cannot include.”

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