Barcelona have saved €90 million from Griezmann and Pique departures

 Mateu Alemany has been crunching the numbers

Barcelona sporting director Mateu Alemany spoke about the club’s wage bill during a press conference on Thursday with president Joan Laporta.

The Catalans have had to reduce the wage bill this season and have done so by offloading several players in recent transfer windows.

Alemany highlighted just how much the departures of two players in particular have helped trim costs when it comes to salaries.

“The (freed) wages of Griezmann and Pique, who were under contract next year, mean 90 million less in squad costs for us. We reduce that amount of wage bill with two players,” he said.

“There was an unsustainable wage bill because the reality is that we had a wage bill of 655 million euros. Fair Play is the representation of a given situation. We have got rid of players we didn’t count on and we have lowered the wage bill, but Barça need a competitive team.”

Laporta also offered a bit of detail about the current wage bill and again insisted he’s saved the club from financial disaster.

“We inherited a club in excess of its limit by €300-350 million. We have reduced [the wage bill] by around €100m but have maintained a competitive squad,” he said.

“By the summer, that will be €170m. We are still exceeding the limit but we saved Barca from financial ruin. What we inherited can’t be fixed overnight.”

It’s thought more salary cuts are needed, although Laporta sounded confident the club would be able to spend in the summer without any big sales.

We’ll soon find out.