Another week has passed by and once again Barcelona find themselves mired in player registration issues as they continue to search for a way to register Jules Kounde officially in time for their next La Liga encounter.
Like last summer, Barcelona once again approached their club captains, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique, to discuss possible salary reductions or deferrals so that it can help them register the new signings.
Discussions had been taking place but have hit roadblocks in recent days, with Mundo Deportivo now reporting that the situation has gotten complicated, leading to Barcelona prioritising player sales over the salary negotiations with the two veteran stars.
As per the report, there are several reasons leading to the talks with Busquets and Pique coming to a standstill.
In the case of Busquets, Barcelona were negotiating just a deferred salary payment rather than reductions. However, with his current contract expiring next year, the club wanted to renew him for another year or two to make the deferred payment process smooth and more logical.
However, the Spain captain is uninterested in extending his contract as he wants to put an end to his chapter at Camp Nou next year and start a new journey in the MLS, leading to the negotiations coming to a halt.
Busquets’ agent, Josep Maria Orobitg, suggested the club to include an exit clause that would allow his client to leave even in case of an extension, but that does not suit the club’s plans.
Meanwhile, with Pique, negotiations took place over a wage reduction which would have seen him take a drastic pay cut. The 35-year-old is already owed over €50 million in wages and deferred payments and was willing to let go of a large part of it to help register the new signings.
However, his agent asked Barcelona for payment guarantees that the club would not give him, leading to the talks stopping.
Apart from these two reasons for the complications, there is also the fact that La Liga are keeping a close eye on the situation as there is a possibility that back-to-back salary deferrals could be construed as exploitation of rules.
So, even though there has been no complete breakdown of talks, at this point, Barcelona believe that selling players might be their best way to achieve Financial Fair Play and register Kounde and any other players that come in before the transfer window closes.
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