The coronavirus pandemic has caused disruptions throughout the world. Not just in medical terms, but even from an economic standpoint. Businesses all around the world are struggling to cope with the ongoing drastic changes. The business of sports has come to a halt due to the pandemic, which could force some organisations to lay off their employees or reduce their salary. But FC Barcelona (FCB), along with other football clubs, are trying to prevent this from happening.

Lionel Messi announced in a statement that he and his fellow FCB players will be taking a 70% pay cut to ensure non-sporting staff receive full wages. In a statement, Barca skipper Messi said: “Before going any further, we want to make it clear that we were always willing to reduce our salaries because we understand perfectly that we are in an exceptional situation. We, as players, are always here to help the the club when they ask.

“It does not cease to surprise us that from within the club there were those who tried to put us under the magnifying glass and tried to add pressure to do something that we always knew we would do.

“If we didn’t speak until now, it’s because the priority was to to find solutions to help the club and to see who the most affected were during this situation.

“For our party, the moment has arrived that, the cut will be 70% of our wage during the state of alarm. We will also help out the club in order for the workers to be paid 100% of their wages.”

Apart from FCB, Juventus players and manager Maurizio Sarri agreed to freeze their pay for four months, and German teams Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, have also agreed to take pay cuts.