Bartomeu was the man to block Messi from leaving during the infamous ‘burofax episode’ of 2020, during which the Argentine superstar expressed a desire to leave Barcelona. He was ultimately prevented from doing so, but the Covid-19 pandemic made life increasingly difficult for clubs around the world.
On the challenges that he faced when trying to keep a star-studded squad intact, Bartomeu said: “In March 2020, lockdown began and at that point, revenue dried up, so a 14% pay cut was agreed with the players, resulting in savings of €90 million.
“We spoke to Procicat and they told us we would surely be able to reopen the stadium for the new season, but in August, they told us we couldn’t. So we spoke to the players to tell them their wages would be cut by 20%. And that’s when things came to a head, because they said no.
“Consequently, we had to open negotiations. And there were only four players who said, ‘We want to do this, we want to help’. A new contract was drawn up for them, under which they would earn less in the first two years and more in the final two.”