Crisis club Barcelona have wage bill slashed by £232MILLION which could force giants to sell top stars

CRISIS club Barcelona’s financial issues show no signs of slowing down after another blow from LaLiga bosses.

The club have been told that they must cut their wage bill by £232million after having their squad wage cap reduced, according to The Daily Mail.

AFPXavi will see his spending capped next season – with the club likely having to sell players to comply with LaLiga rules[/caption]

The club’s financial struggles began after misspending the money received for the world record sale of Neymar for £196million in 2017.

They have since faced cost-cutting measure for years, which ultimately saw them lose the likes of Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Gerard Pique also took a voluntary mid-season retirement last season in order to relieve the club of having to pay his hefty wage packet.

This season the club sold Ousmane Dembele to PSG and Franck Kessie to the Saudi league as well as loaning out Clement Lenglet to Aston Villa and Ansu Fati to Brighton to meet their salary cap.

But that cap is set to become even tighter, with Barcelona’s wage bill being cut by 50 per cent after been told in February they could spend approximately £558m.

Barcelona’s staff and player costs currently stand at £347m, which leaves the club approximately £115m over their new cap of £232million.

That means the club could be forced to sell a number of players in order to make up the £115m deficit.

Given Fati and Lenglet already find themselves out on loan, they could be the first players to make way.

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The club also have sellable assets in the form of Frenkie De Jong, Gavi, Pedri and Ferran Torres.

Barca notably did not spend much this summer, with their high-profile transfers either being frees or loans.

Gundogan was signed on a free, while Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo arrived on loan deals.

Despite this, they faced a reduction in their cap after a late payment of one of their economic levers worth £51million in August 2022.

A comparison with rivals Real Madrid really sheds light on Barcelona’s struggles.

Madrid were put on similar financial measures last season, but have seen their spending cap increased to £627million this time around.