The Bosnian had become one of the highest salary earners at Barca following the departure of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
FC Barcelona have continued their cost-cutting measures this summer with the release of another player. Miralem Pjanic leaves the club for Turkey after being on the shelf for a long time. As per the club’s official website, the player will join Turkish giants Besiktas on a season-long loan move.
Barcelona’s financial situation put them in a tough spot after Josep Maria Bartomeu put the club in a tight corner.
FC Barcelona sees themselves as more than a club, and a mess that bothered on tax evasion, smear campaigns, and poor transfer business was a stain on their image.
Bartomeu is alleged to have engaged in several deals that seemed shady. He spent a lot on transfers, offered players humongous salaries and racked up a debt bill that amounted to $1.6 billion.
The messy situation led to his eventual departure following a litany of court cases. Bartomeu’s mess is what Joan Laporta is trying to clean, and part of the cleanup is the sale of several players.
Pjanic leaves for Besiktas
Pjanic, 31, had been on the shop window for a while as Barcelona pursued drastic cost-cutting measures to fall within the specified regulations.
The Bosnian was in with a possible move to Juventus, AS Roma, Napoli, and Fiorentina. Having played in Italy, it looked like a slam dunk to get a club there, but they were not wholly convinced to take a chance on him.
Pjanic, who arrived at Barca in a swap deal that saw Arthur Melo going to Turin, has found game time hard to come by as Koeman is not a fan of the player.
It looked like the midfielder would be stuck in Spain till January following the closure of the transfer window, but he has succeeded in tying down a loan move to Turkey, whose window is still open.
The deal was also announced on the Besiktas website, with the Turkish club paying €2.7 million in loan fees.
Other players who have left
Joan Laporta has done a decent job in bringing down the wage bill of the club. With more needed to be done, the club president is leaving no stone unturned to get the club where it belongs.
According to Laporta, 96% of the club’s revenue went to salaries. The departure of Lionel Messi saw it drop to 85%.
Several pay cuts and other departures have helped to bring them within La Liga regulations. Amongst those who have left are Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Emerson royal, Junior Firpo, Ray Manaj, Carles Alena and Francisco Trincao.
La Liga regulations stipulate a wage bill of around 70% of the club’s revenue.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
