Major League Soccer

With Messi, Griezmann and others out, they saved €115m: Was Barcelona successful this summer

By Adedamola Samuel

Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Miralem Pjanic, Trincao, and Ilaix Moriba are some of the palyers that left Barcelona this usmmer transfer window. With debts of up to €1.3bn, how did the club's do in trying to limit the wage bill of the Spanish giants?

Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Miralem Pjanic, Trincao, and Ilaix Moriba are some of the palyers that left Barcelona this usmmer transfer window. With debts of up to €1.3bn, how did the club's do in trying to limit the wage bill of the Spanish giants?

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FC Barcelona set a target of reducing an over-bloated wage bill this summer. With many of its players on huge salaries, and barely contributing so much, the Catalan club was determined to either get them to take pay cuts or to leave the club at all costs. The Spanish giants are said to be in debt of about €1.3bn accumulated through poor financial management, expensive transfers, and huge salaries to players. 

On transfer deadline day, FC Barcelona completed a raft of deals which included Antoine Griezmann returning to Atletico Madrid, Emerson Royal being sold to Tottenham Hotspur, and Ilaix Moriba joining RB Leipzig. After the European deadline, Miralem Pjanic was also still able to complete a move to the Turkish side Besiktas. This is on the back of Lionel Messi's earlier departure to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. 

With their summer deals, FC Barcelona has been able to chalk off €1m (Messi), €604k (Griezmann), €291k (Pjanic), €160k (Trincao), and €130k (Emerson) from their weekly wage bill. Cumulatively this comes to an annual salary of about €113.6m from their annual wage bill. Before factoring in the wages of new players such as Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia, the Barcelona annual wage bill would now stand at approximately €125m, down from €238m during the 2020/21 season. 

This is a marked difference of close to a 50% reduction in the Barcelona wage bill. Picking up free agents Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia also helped the Catalan club to not spend a single Euro on acquiring new players whilst still turning a profit on the sales of Emerson Royal (£30m), Ilaix Moriba (€15m), Antoine Griezmann (obligation to buy at €40m), amongst other deals. This means that the Joan Laporta-led management has been fairly successful this season in their transfer dealings.

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