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Barcelona's financial crisis is getting worse, with reports now emerging that the club owe Gerard Pique €50 million in unpaid salary.
As per Gerard Romero, Barcelona have deferred Pique's salary to soften the blow on their current financial state but still owe the defender a huge amount. Romero reports that the club agreed to pay his wages at a later stage when he extended his contract.
Pique is the highest-paid player at Barcelona right now following Lionel Messi's departure last summer. The defender signed a new deal in October 2020, keeping him at the club until 2024. However, he had agreed to collect his salary at a later date to help the club through financial crisis during the pandemic.
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Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clément Lenglet, and Frenkie de Jong had also signed their contract extensions with the club at the same time, with Barcelona confirming the deals 'included a temporary salary adjustment' due to the current circumstances brought about by the COVID19 induced crisis.
Gerard Pique hits out at former Barcelona president
Josep Bartomeu was the president when the Catalan side extended Pique's contract, but the 'Barcagate' scandal soon followed. The president was forced to resign after the financial situation worsened and was eventually replaced by Joao Laporte.
Pique hit out at Bartomeu and was quoted by SPORT saying:
"Bartomeu lied to Messi and me at the Ciudad Deportiva. He told us he didn't know anything about Barçagate. I came out to defend Bartomeu at a press conference, but he knew it: the person in charge of everything that happened with Barçagate is his right-hand man. Later, in an interview, I criticized him and he sent me a message saying that it was not true. Bartomeu fired his right-hand man from his job, but he continued to have a salary. He had a cordial relationship with Bartomeu, but the fact that he lied to me was serious. Bad decisions were made at the club."
Pique's future at the club beyond 2024 is still in the balance, but the club are actively looking to sign a replacement for him.
