Two Barcelona stars reject wage deduction as club attempt to lower wage bill

Two Barcelona stars have rejected the club's appeal for them to take a wage cut, as they desperately try to reduce their wage bill.

Finances and Barcelona are not two things that have gone hand-in-hand in a particularly positive manner over the past couple of years.

There has been problems with registering players and signing them for fees, whilst Lionel Messi's departure was as a direct consequence of their problems.

Gavi has also been struck by the issues, as he's not able to registered and instead is technically still a youth team player for them, which could even see him leave for free in the upcoming summer.

The club do reportedly want to bring Messi back to the Nou Camp this summer, with his contract at Paris Saint-Germain set to expire, although there is the possibility of a new deal in France.

Whether that happens or not, there's a good chance that they'll have to sell players in the summer to make up for the huge wage bill.

They're also trying to get all of the players in the squad to take a pay cut, which would see them all have their wages reduced by 15%.

However, the idea has already gone down badly, with SPORT reporting that both Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have rejected the offer already.

Kessie is one of the players to have rejected the offer. Image: Alamy

The pair's contracts had already caused the club some issues, as they weren't initially able to be registered when they first arrived last summer.

Kessie moved to the club on a free from AC Milan, despite interest from lots of other clubs, and nearly returned to Italy back in the January transfer window.

Christensen also cost no transfer fee, when he arrived from Chelsea, after his contract in west London expired at the end of the previous campaign.

Barca are said to have actually taken the news that they rejected the deduction well, considering that the players only signed deals a year ago.

They also sympathised with the fact the pair turned down moves elsewhere, or staying at their previous clubs, in order to move to Spain.

Whilst they may win La Liga, the club are also fighting accusations of corruption, something that president Joan Laporta has been very clear they've not done.