LIONEL MESSI will reportedly be asked to stomach a pay cut by Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Cuatro reports the proposal will be put to the Argentine superstar when the two meet face to face for the first time since the end of Messi’s transfer saga.
Lionel Messi will be asked to accept a cut in wages
Josep Bartomeu will ask Messi to take a pay cut in their first meeting since he agreed to stayCredit: AFP or licensors
The 33-year-old shocked the world by announcing he wanted to leave the club in August.
Debate raged over whether Messi could leave for free and if he would sensationally reunite with Pep Guardiola and play for Manchester City in the Premier League.
But ultimately he made a reluctant U-turn after revealing he would not take the club he loves to court in order to leave.
The report states Messi wants nothing to do with Bartomeu, given the forward believes he went back on his word after saying he would be allowed to go if he desired.
However, the Catalan giants’ financial situation is dire.
Club accounts for the 2019-20 season revealed massive losses of £90million.
And despite a net gain of around £20m from the deal that saw Arthur leave for Juventus and Miralem Pjanic arriving at the Nou Camp, more needs to be done.
Messi knows – after being re-elected as skipper – he will have to lead by example when it comes to cost-cutting measures.
The club are desperate to get their annual wage bill down and need Messi to give a reduction the green light before moving onto other big earners in the first-team squad.
The report adds that sparks will fly in the meeting between Bartomeu and Messi after such an eventful summer.
On the pitch, Messi returned to training last Monday under new boss Ronald Koeman.
And the former Holland boss immediately selected him to start the first game of the season on Saturday.
Barca beat Gimnastic 3-1 with Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and the returning Philippe Coutinho nabbing the goals.
Lionel Messi plays in Barcelona friendly after transfer saga with Griezmann, Coutinho and Dembélé scoring in win
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
