By Safiu Kehinde
La Liga giant, Barcelona will finally be able to register their new signing, Ferran Torres after coming into agreement of contract extension and salary cut with defender Samuel Umtiti.
In order to comply with the Spanish league’s Financial Fair Play rule, the embattled Catalan club were compelled to take drastic measures as regards their spending. They had to readjust their players’ huge earnings which saw Lionel Messi agreed to a 50% pay cut. But this was not enough to get Barcelona off the Financial Fair Play grip, resulting to Messi’s departure from the club.
Despite the huge sacrifice, Barcelona were still unable to register their new signings which were mostly acquired on a free transfer during the summer transfer window. The likes of Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, and Luuk De Jong, could not be registered after their arrival. As a result, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Roberto all had to take salary cuts to help their financially troubled club.
With the £55m signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City, another salary cut was required with Samuel Umtiti coming up front this time. Surprisingly, the Frenchman did not just agree to get his salary reduced, he also agreed a contract extension until 2026 which the club appreciated.
“Barcelona wishes to publicly express its gratitude to Samuel Umtiti for his willingness and the affection that he has demonstrated towards the club,” the club said in a statement.
The club further opened up the chance to get Torres registered following the salary cut. “Through this contract extension, Barcelona will be able to increase its ‘financial fair play’ quota and thus register Torres with the Spanish league,” it said.
Meanwhile, Torres has been out of action since October last year. He suffered a foot injury while on International duty before signing for Barcelona. Apart from his inability to get registered, he also contacted Covid-19 that kept him a while before finally testing negative. He is currently with the team at Saudi Arabia as they prepare to take on Real Madrid for the Spanish Super Cup semi-final.
