Barcelona face BANKRUPTCY by January unless they cut enormous wage bill by £170m

Barcelona are now entering financial crisis territory and run the risk of bankruptcy in January of next year, according to reports in Spain.

The Spanish giants have an eye-watering wage bill which is crippling the club and is said to be in urgent need of cutting by around £170million.

Today talks have begun with the legal representatives of the first-team players regarding the ongoing situation and their current salaries, as report Spain-based RAC1.

A deadline has been set for next week, Thursday November 5, in order for the club to reach a resolution and work out exactly how finances will be put in order going forward.

Barca have to agree wage cuts by the November 5 date in order to announce the budget for this season.

Current income is projected at £746m (€828m) – a drop of £231m – meaning players are now being called upon to make long-term sacrifices.

Player wages in Catalonia stood at 61 per cent of the clubs of £940m (€1,047m) income before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Since, income has dropped to £746m meaning salaries would become over 80 per cent of total income, which is not sustainable.

Sportsmail understands an initial round of talks on Friday were positive with players understanding the situation and happy to work with Carles Tusquets, the interim president.

The most likely and expected outcome is that players agree to receive same salaries but over a long period of time.

This is essentially the case with goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Frenkie De Jong, Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique, who have already agreed to their contract extensions.

Barca hope to do this across the whole playing squad, and would not mean players have their salaries lowered, but rather their payments would be restructured and paid in smaller instalments to help cash flow.

The news comes in the aftermath of the exit of president Josep Bartomeu, who quit the club last week and walked away after months of constant criticism.

Earlier in the year Barca senior players took a string of pay-cuts in line with the club's battling against the crushing effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In early October it was announced that the Spanish giants would be undertaking yet another rounds of cuts, after revealing an £88million loss in profits.

Players took a 70 per cent pay-cut back in March to ensure non-playing staff received all of their wages with the pandemic shutting down the sport.

It still remains unclear as to whether the new talks of pay-cuts would give the squad the power to rescind contracts and walk away for free.

A key issue the club have had to contend with before pushing on with planned cuts is how another reduction would affect the Spanish Workers' Statute.

A report in Spanish publication Marca makes the claim that judicial sources in Spain have indicated to them that players and employees may have the legal right to rescind their contract if deals are modified for financial reasons.

The ongoing pandemic means Barca have lost out in all areas, with their enormous Nou Camp stadium no longer benefiting from the mass arrivals of paying supporters, while the absence of tourism in Barcelona has seen the club shops and resources suffer as a result.

Barca's limited dealings in the transfer market were largely down to the financial armageddon the club are battling through.

Manager Ronald Koeman made Lyon attacker Memphis Depay a top target but Barcelona were unable to finance a deal for the Dutchman on deadline day.

Barca were also linked with Eric Garcia of Manchester City and Liverpool's Georgino Wijnaldum, though deals for either player could not be completed in time for the summer window.

It is understood Barca and Koeman still hold a strong interest, and will return for the two stars as their current contracts creep closer to expiration.