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Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is set to accept a wage reduction which could lead to him not receiving any wages for the whole of the 2022/23 season. This speculation comes from multiple reports claiming that Pique had informed Barcelona that he would be ready to 'drastically reduce' his salary for helping the club register their new summer signings.
Reports say that his reduction could reach a point where he effectively would be playing for free for the new season. But Pique is set to take up his wages during the final year of his contract in the 2023/24 season.
The Blaugrana has so far registered midfielder Franck Kessie, defender Andreas Christensen and forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, along with their existing players Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto, who renewed their contracts thanks to Pique and several "economic levers" including new investment deals that helped them release funds. But Barcelona has not registered French defender Jules Kounde as the club would have to free up the so-called salary mass.
The Blaugrana recently sold 24.5% of Barca Studios to Orpheus Media as Club president Joan Laporta has been selling off portions of revenue streams in exchange for cash upfront. The Catalans had already sold that same amount of equity of the Barca Studios to Socios.com earlier this summer
A statement addressing this deal read, “FC Barcelona announces the sale of 24.5% of Barça Studios to the company Orpheus Media, managed by Mr Jaume Roures, audiovisual producer with an extensive career in the creation of audiovisual and digital content, for an amount of 100 million euros. This agreement complements the one already signed last July 29 with Socios.com and will serve to accelerate the growth of the Club's digital strategy, NFT and Web.3.”
“The sale has taken term in accordance with the authorization of the General Assembly of Members and Partners of FC Barcelona held last October 23. With these investments, the strategic partners of Barça Studios demonstrate their confidence in the value of the project and the future of digital content in the world of sport.”