Ronald Koeman agrees to take a pay-cut on his £10m Barcelona salary

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has agreed to take a pay-cut on his whopping £10m-a-year salary and will communicate to his team later today that he hopes they all follow suit.

The Spanish giants have faced months of talks regarding wage cuts and deferrals amid financial turmoil at the club, with Barca needing to slash £170million due to the effects felt from the coronavirus crisis.

While some players - such as Gerard Pique and Frenkie de Jong - have agreed to 30 per cent wage deferrals, top earners like Lionel Messi have not yet their manager and his technical staff have now informed interim president Carles Tusquets of their decision to take a cut, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

The report details that Koeman will talk to his squad later today and though he won't impose anything on his players, will inform them that the final decision regarding their salaries is in their hands and will encourage them to deal with the matter swiftly.

Last week, Barcelona's  wage cap was reduced from £601million to £342m by LaLiga in the wake of the financial pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Barcelona's player wages took up around 61 per cent of the club's £940m income before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, meaning their current wage bill stands at around £573m.

Barca's latest figures showed the club had made an £88m loss and had racked up a net debt that had doubled to £440m.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas said the cuts were necessary to bring down the 'excessive spending' of Spanish clubs, given supporters are still unable to attend matches.

Barcelona are yet to agree on squad-wide wage reductions after players agreed to a 70 per cent cut in March.

Captain Lionel Messi the current highest earner at the club as he pockets around £500,000 per week (£26m per year) while Antoine Griezmann takes in around £249,000-a-week (£15.3m) and Philippe Coutinho £180,000-a-week (£9.4m).

The feeling, according to Mundo, around the club is that salary-cuts are closer to being a reality, though talks are ongoing between the club's board and player's representatives.

Some believe negotiations should not be concluded until the outcome of upcoming presidential elections, with the result due in mid-January.

Koeman himself is keen to put the issue to bed so the players can focus solely on matters on the pitch, following an indifferent start to the season.

The Dutch coach was aware of the financial struggles of the club when he took charge after replacing Quique Setien in the summer.

The fact that targets such as Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay did not materialise into signings was further proof of the club's financial black hole.

Though Barca have comfortably qualified for the knockout-stages of the Champions League, they are lying in a lowly 13th in LaLiga, having won just three of their eight games so far.