Reports | Jordi Alba to take wage reduction to further decrease Barcelona's wage bill

Gerard Pique became the first Barcelona player to accept a wage cut earlier this month which has allowed the Spanish club to make serious changes. The club had announced that the defender's willingness to take a wage cut allowed the club to register new signings such as Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, and Rey Manaj this transfer window. However, ESPN has reported that he won’t be the last one as Jordi Alba is set to accept a pay reduction as well.

The Spaniard, who is under contract at Camp Nou until 2024, is understood to have taken a significant pay cut which would cut his wages by as much as 25 percent and is also said to defer a part of his salary. ESPN has further reported that the Spanish clubs are in talks with Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto as well in order to decrease their salaries. It is understood that both players are willing to modify their contracts, but the exact structure is being worked on.

The club will also hope to free up some money on the wage bill by moving on Miralem Pjanic and Samuel Umtiti before the end of the transfer window. Barcelona has to satisfy La Liga's spending limit in terms of transfer and wage fees. In the 2019-20 season, before the pandemic, the Spanish club had a cap of over €600m but that dropped to €347 million last season and it is expected to drop to around €200m for the current season.