MX23RW : Wednesday, June 19 19:30:24| >> :120:5143:5143:

Barcelona 'must cut £441m to afford Lionel Messi renewal'

Barcelona 'must cut £441m to afford Lionel Messi renewal'
© Reuters
Barcelona must reportedly trim £441m from their wage bill as Lionel Messi edges closer to agreeing a new deal with the cash-strapped Catalans.

Barcelona will reportedly have to make £441m worth of cuts in order to afford Lionel Messi's contract renewal.

The Blaugrana are in a deep financial crisis and are facing over £1bn worth of debts, but Messi is thought to have agreed a new five-year deal with the Catalan giants.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner will accept a significant pay cut to remain on the books at Camp Nou, but Barca are now under even more pressure to offload some of their highest earners who have struggled to perform.

According to The Athletic, Barca's salary cap is set to be slashed to £138m from £579m, meaning that Ronald Koeman's side must shift £441m from their wage bill as a matter of urgency.

The club have waved goodbye to fringe players such as Junior Firpo, Carles Alena and Jean-Clair Todibo but are reportedly working hard to offload the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti, with the former having supposedly been offered to Manchester United.

Umtiti, meanwhile, is thought to be in talks over a return to Lyon, but a recent report has indicated that Coutinho could stay at the club ahead of the 2021-22 season.

ID:456506:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3311:

Lionel Messi future - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Lionel Messi

Click here for more stories about Barcelona

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Antoine Griezmann in action for Barcelona on March 10, 2021
Read Next:
Chelsea eye loan deal for Antoine Griezmann?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Thursday, June 20
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Group Stage
Spain
vs.
Italy
Friday, June 21
 
2pm
 
5pm
Saturday, June 22
 
5pm
 
8pm
Sunday, June 23
 
8pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 24
 
8pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 25
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Wednesday, June 26
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 29
Sunday, June 30
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Friday, July 5
Saturday, July 6
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany22006
2 Switzerland Switzerland11003
3 Hungary Hungary20020
4 Scotland flag Scotland10010

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Spain Spain11003
2 Italy Italy11003
3 Albania national flag Albania20111
4 Croatia Croatia20111

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1 England flag England11003
2 Denmark Denmark10101
3 Slovenia Slovenia10101
4 Serbia Serbia10010

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Netherlands Netherlands11003
2 France France11003
3 Poland Poland10010
4 Austria Austria10010

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Romania Romania11003
2 Slovakia Slovakia11003
3 Belgium Belgium10010
4 Ukraine Ukraine10010

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Turkey Turkey11003
2 Portugal Portugal11003
3 Czech Republic Czech Republic10010
4 Georgia Georgia10010


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!