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FootballGerard Pique Posts Bank Statement Showing Barcelona Wages on Twitter Amid Rumours He Makes £450k a Week
- A Spanish TV programme came out with explosive reports that some Barcelona superstars were earning massive wages despite the club’s financial problems
- Among the players implicated was Gerrard Pique, who took to Twitter to clear the rumours
- The 34-year old posted his bank statement to reveal his wages for the second half of 2021
Barcelona defender Gerrard Pique has hit out at claims that he is making a killing in terms of wages amid a financial crisis at the club.
On Friday, January 7, rumours were rife that the Barcelona man was earning a massive £450,000 per week, which is roughly KSh 69.5 million.
The information about the 34-year old’s wages were apparently leaked by Spanish TV3 programme Onze, with the likes of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets also reported to be on high wages at the club.
But Pique vehemently denied the reports, and went to the lengths of posting his yearly bank statement on Twitter, and it has since gone viral.
The screenshot seemed to show half of his annual pay, which stands at - £2million (KSh 308 million).
This means that if he made KSh 2 million in the second half of 2021, his annual salary is £4million a year, which is roughly £75,000 (KSh 11.6 million) per week.
Along with the screenshot, Pique also added a scathing statement to the TV show that brought alive rumours of his alleged massive wages.
"Characters like this charging for public television to defend their friends,” he said on Twitter.
"Here are 50 per cent of my payroll earned on December 30th. Respect yourself a little."
Pique’s viral tweet came at the back of Barcelona’s statement regarding the club’s player wages, which was also a rejoinder to Spanish TV3 programme Onze’s leaks.
Barca’s statement read:
In relation to the manifestations of Mr. Lluís Canut carried out yesterday in the program 'Onze' of TV3, FC Barcelona wants to clarify the following:
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Football"1. The information on the salaries of certain first team players has not, in any case, been provided by the Club and its origin is unknown.
"2. In any case, the amounts referred to in the information are erroneous, do not conform to reality and, furthermore, in the case of the first three players referred to, it gives as fixed amounts that, being variable, will possibly never be reached. to merit.
"3. It is false that the aforementioned players have only deferred 100% of their salary. Messrs. Piqué, Busquets and Alba gave up part of their salary when they signed the last contract renewal last summer.
"We consider it inappropriate, unprofessional and that it has acted in bad faith when this information is offered as true and truthful and we regret that data of this type is provided that affects the personal rights of the players and that deserves, when they are true, the highest confidentiality."
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FootballBarca's cash strap
Quite a number of superstars at Barcelona have been forced to take paycuts to help the cash-strapped club.
The situation was so bad in August 2021 that the club was forced to let go of arguably their most prized asset – Lionel Messi - for free.
They still managed to sign Ferran Torres during the January transfer window, but they cannot register the Spaniard until their wagebill is reduced.
The recent departure of Phillipe Coutinho to Aston Villa will be a huge boost for Barca, as Villa will now pay a large chunk of the Brazilian’s wages until the end of the season.