Barcelona's decision to withhold part of their player's wages in order to keep their financial statements in order caused quite a stir, but what really shocked most was the squad's decision not to accept the first scenario proposed by Josep María Bartomeu's team.
According to a report by Mundo Deportivo, the entire squad has discussed the idea of taking a paycut, but after the first conversations between the players, there seem to be three different factions inside the team's locker room, which could complicate all deals between the team's hierarchy and the players.
The first group is reportedly not willing to take a paycut, since they believe it would be a way of helping a board that has not been there for them during crunch time. According to the newspaper, several members of the team believe that Bartomeu and Co. have done a poor job in managing the team, and most of them are not willing to back his decisions.
The second group, which reportedly includes Lionel Messi, is willing to take the paycut. Mundo Deportivo states that those in this group are well aware of the situation in the world, and having money taken from their paychecks seems like the right thing to do for them.
The last group seems to have no opinion on this matter. The Catalan-based newspaper is not ready to enter into a tug of war with the other two groups, mainly because they want to decide their stance once the Spanish Footballers' Association shares its views.
Eventually, Barcelona's players will end up reaching common ground, but the reported division between the members of the squad is a clear indication on why the team has struggled so much during the 2019-20 La Liga season.
