If you had already thought things were bad enough at FC Barcelona this summer, the latest news regarding the Spanish giants will certainly highlight just how wrong we all might have been.
Admittedly, things could have been a whole lot worse than they are at the Camp Nou outfit, with Lionel Messi having had his contract expire. However, the club managed to avoid the ultimate disaster in regards to the Argentine magician, as they managed to convince him to reduce his wage packet each week by a significant amount for a number of years.
Indeed, the fact that Messi will remain a Barca player could be great news for those who bet on the club using the Betway soccer betting markets available, as they will still be able to get some top betting odds.
However, that is where the rest of the latest problem all lies, as the club are reportedly trying to get a number of their other players to follow suit and are struggling to achieve that. In fact, they are struggling so much that new, fresh reports are now claiming that the club are going to take legal action against those that are refusing to take a pay-cut.
In rather bizarre and extraordinary circumstances, a report from Mundo Deportivo has claimed that FC Barcelona will warn those that do not agree with having a sum of money taken away from them each week will be hit with legal action.
Some solace from the news is that it has been claimed that Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto have all agreed to a cut, although there are still a number of players who are said to be holding firm and wanting what they had originally agreed to terms with.
One player is the experienced Jordi Alba, with his decision having reportedly left president, Joan Laporta, surprised at the stance, as the pair are both understood to have a very good friendship. However, it would seem friendship is not valued as highly as money, or perhaps as a matter of principle.
There have been no suggestions about what type of legal battle could be faced by the players or the club, however it would seem rather difficult to get individuals to face legal action over a contract that they signed, considering that is a legally binding document in the first place.
Nonetheless, FC Barcelona also have a number of other issues that they are currently facing in regards to the financial situation that they are in, with the club desperate to raise funds.
The first problem that they may have to try and resolve is the fact that they are in a position whereby the likes of Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garica may remain unregistered for the upcoming La Liga season due to the rules set out by the League.
Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, warned the Catalans to reduce their wage bill ahead of the upcoming season, but whether the cut that Messi took was enough remains to be seen, whilst those that have departed already will have left some money being saved.
However, that is also the other problem, as Ronald Koeman’s side still need to look to try and offload a number of players as well, with a number of them already up for sale but hardly generating any interest.
