Gerard Pique debunks 'false' claims on Barcelona salary, shares bank statement to clarify

Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué replied to a journalist's claim about his salary on Saturday by sharing a screenshot of his bank statement. A journalist named Lluis Canut reported on live television that Piqué was Barcelona's highest-paid player, earning 28 million euros per year. 

The 34-year-old centre-back retaliated by posting a screenshot of his salary transfer, which shows 2.3 million euros credited to his account. In his tweet, Piqué stated that the sum is equal to half of his annual income. Piqué also slammed the journalist by saying that "characters" like him charge money for public television to "defend their friends". 

"Characters like this charging for public television to defend their friends. Here are 50% of my payroll earned on December 30th. Respect yourself a little," Piqué wrote on Twitter. 

Canut further claimed that Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Samuel Umtiti are next in line to Piqué when it comes to getting the most salary at Barcelona. Canut said Busquets made 23 million euros last year, while Alba and Umtiti earned 20 million euros each. 

'The info does not confirm to reality'

Meanwhile, Barcelona also hit back at Canut by dismissing his claims as "erroneous" and saying the information "do not conform to reality". The club issued a statement on its official website, where it confirmed that the information shared by Canut was not true. The Spanish giants further added that all three players mentioned by Canut in his report have taken salary cuts while renewing their contracts last summer. 

"We consider it inappropriate, unprofessional and that [Canut] has acted in bad faith by offering this information as truthful. We regret that data of this type is provided because it infringes the personal rights of the players and deserves, when the information is true, confidentiality," Barcelona said in its statement. 

Barcelona is currently embroiled in a financial issue with the club allowed to spend only 97 million euros per season on wage bills. Earlier last year, the club had revealed that players including Pique, Busquets, and Alba have agreed to a cut in their respective salaries in order to allow Barcelona to register new signings with LaLiga. As per reports, Barcelona is currently under a debt of over 1 billion euros. In August 2021, Barcelona let go of its star player Lionel Messi in order to save money in wage bills. 

Image: AP