Barcelona to hand out ‘participation bonus’ to only eight stars this season – report | OneFootball

Barcelona have essentially achieved their sporting ambitions this season, with a 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano allowing the Catalans to secure a top-two position in La Liga and, in turn qualification to the Spanish Super Cup.

Now, steps in the Barcelona board room are being taken to evaluate the financial circumstances ahead of the summer transfer window.

Participation bonuses have been determined

According to SPORT, this season’s “participation bonuses” have already been decided and will not be affected by the last game of the season against Sevilla.

Due to the updated requirements that Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany imposed before departing the club, simply one-third of the team qualified for these bonuses.

Except for time missed owing to suspensions or injuries, players must now have participated in at least 45 minutes of play in 60% of the games.

Only a handful of players – Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Joao Cancelo, Ilkay Gundogan, and Robert Lewandowski have met these standards.

Araujo and Ter Stegen among players who will earn the bonus. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Even though the bonuses are vastly lower in comparison to fixed pay, the Blaugranes save a substantial sum as several players fall short of the 60% cutoff.

It is worth noting that the clause is present in the majority of contracts; Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo, and homegrown players are the exceptions.

Frenkie de Jong the anomaly

Frenkie de Jong is an exceptional example, with his contract adhering to the previous regulations imposed under Josep Maria Bartomeu’s reign.

De Jong will get the bonus using this technique because he played nearly every time he was available. Had injuries been taken into account, he would not have met the 60% criteria.

The Dutchman’s outdated contract is one of the reasons Barcelona are keen on offloading him this summer if he does not agree to a new deal.