BarcelonaIn October 2020, a few days before Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned, the then president of Barça closed the renewal of four footballers. It was a way to get a pay cut from some of the players, who were giving up part of their emoluments in that season (2020-21) in exchange for more money in the future. In the cases of Ter Stegen, De Jong and Lenglet, this formula allowed them to almost double their salary in the future. On the other hand, only Piqué – who had renewed two years earlier – kept the agreed remuneration. The central, which under normal conditions would have finished its contract in 2022, extended the agreement until 2024. In total, it received the same as it had already signed, but distributing the amounts in an ascending form.
The figures of the agreement that Piqué signed in 2018, revealed by The world, have caused a stir in the Blaugrana environment. Not so much because of the amount – despite being well above the market price – but because the player has become a luxury substitute at Barça. Piqué, one of the captains, has gone from being the undisputed starter in the fifth center of the squad, behind Araujo and Eric García, and the signings Christensen and Koundé. His days at Barça, however, may be numbered. And it is that, as I reported Sports world, the club has a clause where they can dispense with his services if he plays less than 35% of the matches. A situation that, right now, is occurring. The only big question mark is knowing what this would entail, in the contractual field. In its last year, the center should collect around 40 million euros gross. The question is whether, in the face of early termination, the player would receive this amount or not. ARA has contacted the club and the player’s environment, but has not been able to find out the answer.
Bartomeu persuaded Piqué to renew in 2020
Gerard Piqué’s 2020 renewal, however, was a forced renewal. The footballer has defended that he, in reality, did not want to sign the contract. And that he only did it at the behest of the president, to help the organization, after Bartomeu insisted. In fact, sources at the club explain that the player was very skeptical of the initial proposal, especially at a time when the negotiating table was about to be set in motion to negotiate, precisely, a labor reform throughout the club – players and other employees -. Piqué accepted, partly because he was guaranteed by the club that, in the media sphere, emphasis would be placed on the fact that he had given a helping hand to the entity. However, this brought him a lot of criticism from a section of the dressing room.
“Piqué has always had on his mind to be president. He may never present himself, but if one day he wants to do it, he knows that the memory he has left in the fans is very important. And these gestures, if they sell well in the face of the gallery, they help a lot,” says an executive who worked at the club at the time of this renovation. Indeed, from the get-go, Piqué’s renewal was treated the same as the others. But, internally, the entity returned the favor to the central by selling it as a great life saver. In fact, and despite some information to the contrary, from Barça – both in the box office and around the dressing room – the thesis has been defended that the relationship between Piqué and the board, and in particular Bartomeu, was “very good” .
The footballer has always said that his wish is to retire from Barça and that, once the contract ends, he will not go to the Americas or look for the last contract in some exotic league. But he had also said that if he had to assume a nosa, he would quickly step aside. The disgrace of being relegated to ostracism and the dream of one day sitting in the main chair of the Camp Nou box office foreshadow a placid end to history. Xavi already told him in the summer that he would be a substitute, but even so he accepted the challenge of continuing at the club. For now, he refrains from making statements and scandals. And that, at the same time, the club has already found a replacement.
Barça wants to sign Iñigo Martínez
The name with the most numbers is that of Iñigo Martínez. In fact, as reported by the ARA in July, the Athletic Club central was plan B in the event that Jules Kounde did not arrive. Barça explored this route at the time when the recruitment of Kounde became complicated, but it was ultimately ruled out with the definitive agreement for the French player. In the summer, Barça would have had to pay for Iñigo – who had a clause of 80 million -, but now he will be free, as his contract ends. He is a veteran player, 31 years old, but Xavi likes him because, among other things, he is a left-footer. He would therefore be the only central left in the team. Also, and since it would come at zero cost, it would fit perfectly into the salary cap.
Iñigo, undisputed starter in Bilbao and Spanish international, could have already signed for Barça in the summer of 2017. In fact, his recruitment was well advanced, but the board, then chaired by Bartomeu, backed out due to the captains’ veto: they agreed to delay his arrival and thus prevent Javier Mascherano from competing in his position, in a season that ended with the World Cup. Now are different times.
