Barcelona negotiating a contract renewal for veteran defender with a drastic pay-cut | OneFootball

In a bid to reduce their bloated wage bill, Barcelona have opened fresh contract negotiations with veteran defender Gerard Pique to hand him a new deal until 2024 with a drastic reduction in his salary.

This claim comes from Victor Navarro of COPE, who states that the 35-year-old defender is likely to sign the renewed deal with the reduced salary as he is intent on helping the club in any way possible.

It is no secret that Barça are having some trouble registering their new signings, which has once again forced them to turn to their club captains over another round of pay cuts.

Reports earlier this month had mentioned that the Blaugrana had approached Sergio Busquets and Pique over reducing their salaries once again. And, now, it seems like they have made progress in talks with the latter about the same.

Pique’s current contract with Barcelona still has two years left and will expire in 2024. And while the new deal is expected to be of the same duration, there will be a drastic pay cut involved.

The Catalan giants worked out a similar arrangement with Samuel Umtiti earlier this year, which helped them register the January acquisitions. And it seems like Pique could follow suit to help the club register the new players.

Earlier, there had also been speculations that Pique could be willing to forego a large part of the €52 million deferred salary payments that he is owed this season to help the club out of a difficult predicament.

Pique had a meeting with Barcelona officials, including president Joan Laporta last week, during which the potential salary reduction may have been discussed. What now remains to be seen is whether the veteran defender’s gesture is enough to help the club achieve Financial Fair Play.